Bristol-based innovation and product development agency, Kinneir Dufort (KD), has launched a new initiative, XXEquals, the UK’s first majority female team designing products for women across the consumer, industrial and medical markets.
Kinneir Dufort
Merle Hall Kinneir Dufort CEO.
Fuelled by the growing need to design more female-centred products in sectors such as femtech and to improve the gender balance in the design industry, XXEquals is already working on projects including smart femcare solutions which monitor and diagnose, digital ecosystems delivering personalised health and wellness solutions for women, voice recognition software, and futures research.
KD has previously developed women-centred products including a breast scanning bed, and a clinically verified device which increases success during IVF and reduces cost.
Comprising a multi-disciplinary collective of KD experts – 75% of whom are women – XXEquals is pushing for more gender balance and equity across product development in general, in a move which is set to potentially benefit millions of female consumers worldwide and KD’s global blue-chip clients.
KD’s CEO, Merle Hall, says: “We are incredibly proud to be the first UK consultancy in the product design industry with an arm which pro-actively focuses on products and experiences for women. It feels like there is truly a need to bring more women to the forefront of innovation and product design.
“XXEquals offers female-focussed insight and an empathic design approach, resulting in innately intuitive products. We need to develop a deeper consideration of the physiological or psychological differences for female users.
“As an agency with a strong purpose – to design a better world – we feel it is our responsibility to instigate change. We are proof that a better gender balance is possible in the product design industry and we would love to support other businesses, driving equality where possible.
“We’re not where we want to be yet, representative of the world around us, but we’re focused on our goals. It is important to us to remember that men always need to be part of the solution too, so we draw on the brilliant expertise of our male strategists, researchers, designers, engineers and makers, who are well versed in allyship and also very engaged in the initiative.”
Around half of the world’s population is female and women buy 85% of household products, yet data shows only 5% of the product and industrial design industry is female.
Hall added: “Without expert female representation throughout the innovation and development process now, more opportunities will be missed to leverage empathetic design, and create brands and products which close the gap between assumption and reality.”
With the femtech market predicted to reach $50 billion by 2025, the business case for gender balance in this industry is powerful.
KD partners with Women of Wearables, an organisation aiming to support, connect, and mentor women and allies in emerging technologies such as wearables, IoT, and healthtech.
Founder and CEO, Marija Butkovic, said: “I am so excited to see this new initiative by KD. In an ever-changing world of consumer technology, brands have finally come to realise that the only way to grow and become visible is by becoming more diverse. With the growing femtech and women's health space, diversity in teams is becoming even more relevant.
“We at Women of Wearables are very proud to work as partners and supporters of such a forward-thinking company, and I cannot wait to see all exciting products and projects that will come out of XXEquals."
KD also has a longstanding partnership with Kerning the Gap, a campaign to encourage more women into leadership roles in the design industry. Founder, Nat Maher, is giving her “full and bridled support” to XXEquals.
