Stereotypes are sadly included everywhere in our daily lives, but one of the most widespread is gender stereotypes in design. Designing for masses leads to have to make assumptions and puts you in a mindset of believing that you have to choose a gender group that you are marketing the product to.
By designing a stereotypical pink product and marketing it as ‘feminine’ deters males from leaning towards buying it. This is due to the creation of the illusion that the product was made specifically for women, making the male gender feel isolated and feel the need to buy something more ‘masculine’.
We have seen tons of companies doing nothing to contest against stereotypes but instead ‘selling’ them even more by using them as a way of marketing and a selling point.
“Since the late 1960s, when feminism re-emerged as a major social movement in a number of nations, many activists and scholars have focused attention on the process by which children are taught to conform to gender norms and become gender-differentiated adults” (Chafetz, J. 1990).
Color Choice:
“Our preference for a specific color can be related to how we feel in any situation, how we want to feel, and even how we remember certain experiences” (Hallock, J. 2003)
According to a study that was investigated by Joe Hallock, both males and females stated that their favorite color is blue. This study was not only tested among an equal number of females and males, but in different age groups as well for a non-biased result.
Figure 1, Female and Male Favorite Color
http://www.joehallock.com/wp-images/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2017-04-19-at-11.39.35-AM.png
Figure 2, Favorite Color by Age Group
http://www.joehallock.com/wp-images/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2017-04-19-at-11.42.03-AM.png
Contrasting the previous statement, it was indicated that the least favorite color picked from both male and female is orange and darker brown.
Figure 3, Female and Male Least Favorite Color
http://www.joehallock.com/wp-images/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2017-04-20-at-11.11.43-AM.png
Figure 4, Least Favorite Color by Age Group
http://www.joehallock.com/wp-images/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2017-04-20-at-11.18.11-AM.png
In terms of design, the types of colors that will consistently attract both genders are neutral light colors. The aesthetic of Dermalogica embodies a great example of making both genders feel inclusive. Dermalogica is a skin care brand with a neutral package tone that focus on quality of the product rather than stereotypes of coloring and extreme ways of marketing.
Figure 5, Dermalogica Gender Neutral Line
https://marketingweek.imgix.net/content/uploads/2015/06/Dermalogica-1.jpg?auto=compress,format&q=60&w=1002&h=753
Color in Marketing:
Quintessentially designers will be persuaded to have thoughts like “Sharp edges are masculine and smooth, curved lines are feminine” or “Blue for boys and pink for girls” (Velarde, O. 2018)
However, as Hellsten cited, “By utilizing these stereotypes, traditional attributes of men and women are being enforced.” (Hellsten, S. 2017)
Figure 6, Dolce & Gabbana K Perfume
https://fimgs.net/mdimg/perfume/375x500.56358.jpg
Let us start by discussing the fact that Dolce & Gabbana introduced a perfume that was marketed towards the male gender and was named K, after King. Not only that, but they made an extra effort to come out with a huge K line that includes several K masculine products, such as perfumes, after shaves and aftershave balms.
Different shades of blue were the only choice for this line’s packaging, adding as an accent color gold to make the gender feel even more royal-like.
On the contrary, zero effort was done to come up with a line named Q, after Queen for the female gender. This leads to believe that the brand Dolce & Gabbana considers only the male gender as leaders and royal Kings.
Meanwhile, the brand introduced to the market several versions of ‘Dolce’ perfumes. The bottles do not represent strong and powerful women. Opposing, they represent women as a cute and soft figure that their main care includes flowers and gardens. It is important to give an emphasis on the selection of soft pastel colors, as well as the calligraphy of the name of the line.
Figure 7, Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Perfume
Equally relevant to the issue, there are more brands equally big that use even more sexist selling points. For instance, Moschino’s perfume. The fact that the color choice is pink is the least concerning factor when coming across this perfume bottle which is a cleaning spray bottle shape. The sexist factor that women belong to the kitchen to cook and clean was supposed to be something that society grew out with the years. However, Moschino is bringing out this element as a ‘funny’ way of marketing the perfume.
Figure 8, Moschino Pink Fresh Couture
https://www.perfumeriasrouge.com/media/catalog/product/cache/a4c6606e13f9b962aa50e95c392e873e/x/6/x6r32_-_pink_fresh.jpg
Designers hold a certain responsibility for designing for everyone. They need to try to make more effort to be as inclusive as possible.
“The internalization of these stereotypes can profoundly shape an individual’s goals and actions.” (Sullivan, J. 2018)
Society evolves every day and women are no longer just the visually appealing, venerable, insignificant figure that was portrayed in the past. They can be strong and leaders. Not every woman is a stay home mum that takes care of the house and cleans. It is unfair to assume that the female gender is all about cleaning and being a delicate figure.
It is very clear from these observations that bigger brands choose the easy path of using ‘funny’ marketing ways. But are they funny or do they end up being sexist and just feeding stereotypes even more to our society?
The most satisfactory conclusion that we can come to is that gender-neutral products will certainly be a good shift in marketing. It will allow people to get out of that bubble of stereotypes that was formed and feel free to express themselves how they want.
The only question left is on whether the design can be genderless and still appeal to a target market. It requires effort and compromise between the interests of a man and a woman, but it can only do good to society.
Bibliography:
Chafetz, J. (1990). Gender Equity An integrated theory of stability and change. USA
Hallock, J. (2003). Colour Assignment. New Media Communications 498
Velarde, O. (2018). What Is Gender-Neutral Design? Here’s How and When to Use It. Visual Learning Center. [online]
Debara, D. (2018). 11 Gender-Neutral Skin Care Brands Everyone Will Love. the Dermstore
Hellsten, S. (2017). basik — HELLSTEN. [online] HELLSTEN.
Sullivan, J. (2018) Backlash against gender stereotype-violating preschool children. Plos One, Page 2
Finlay, V. (2014) The brilliant history of colour in art. Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum
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