Overview
I worked with Google to assess a series of images commissioned as part of Google's effort to think more critically about representation and inclusivity. This image set consisted of fictional representations of people of different ability, race, gender, sexuality, age, and other identities. As a research team, we sought to understand: how does one describe identity in the most inclusive way possible, especially for images with fictional subjects who cannot self-identify? We conducted a series of 9 focus groups and 19 interviews with participants with varying marginalized identities, presenting the images with their co-designed image descriptions. With this data, we authored a qualitative research paper (ASSETS 2021); informed imagery guidelines at Google; had our research documented in a Google Material Design blog post; and became the first ever instance of accessible user representations of disability included in user profile setup, now on all Google Chromebooks since November 2021.
