| Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) is a significant focus for many organisations. Ensuring visual communication accurately reflects differences amongst members of a team does not need to be a complex process. At Inky Thinking we have been partnering with clients to ensure that mirroring diversity in a range of visual assets, such as illustration and animation, is done right first time, meaning you will not have difficult conversations later. The examples below are taken from a recent project for women’s health where Jen Backman created a range of images to reflect diversity for this critical topic. |
| Jen Backman, our own Inky Thinking inclusion champion offers these 5 tips for successful Inclusion & Diversity in visual communication. 1. Start the project off right – spend time in the early stages carefully considering your target audience. Ask for a second opinion to check your thinking. 2. Try it yourself – how would you represent all the different groups within your audience? Having a go at drawing yourself will help you understand differences more clearly. 3. Work with the experts – if you have them, include your I&D team and/or champions at the outset. When working with potentially sensitive subjects a ‘sensitivity reader’ (someone who understands the context and group needs) will help you ensure your communication is spot on. 4. Avoid I&D stereotypes and tokenism – remember that there are many aspects to difference including age, body size and shape, gender and sexuality, ethnicities and backgrounds, and those who are differently abled. 5. Be an I&D advocate – role model I&D so that everyone knows that, whatever project you touch, I&D is always standard. |
If you have further questions on how to illustrate and communicate Inclusion and Diversity or would like Jen’s illustration support with your next project, please email hello@inkythinking.com.
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About Tom …
Tom is a visual meeting facilitator and founder of Inky Thinking, a creative agency specialising in bespoke visual communication, enabling leaders and organisations to communicate effectively. Tom works with leaders and teams in global organisations to design and facilitate conferences, meetings and workshops.
About Jen …
Jen is a Canadian artist who lives in Toronto and works for Inky Thinking. She is a people-loving, outgoing creative with a huge passion for what she does. Jen works in a broad range of styles and mediums and her work tends to be human-centric, with a focus on narrative development. Over the last decade she has worked with clients of all kinds— from start-ups to large corporations. Outside of illustration & art, Jen loves all things plants, aliens, dogs, nature, comic books, romance & monsters.
