Why are basketball players 70% black?

Why do females comprise 92% of nurses?

Why are CS majors 80%+ male?

Why do Asian Americans (on avg) earn more than the average american?

Why do Jewish Americans (on avg) earn more than the average american?

Why do Black Americans (on avg) earn less than the average american?

Why are white americans ~70% of the tech workforce?

These questions are hard, if not impossible, to answer precisely, a more fundamental question is: Why would you expect people from different people from cultures, different geographies, different histories all with entirely different inclinations all be the same?

ITT: white people being so uncomfortable with a discussion of racial exclusion that they'd rather pretend it doesn't exist

Also out of the 13 white people shown in the trailer, only 2 were women ... there is a lot more diversity in design thats not being represented here :/

I think it’s a fair question to ask. I haven’t seen the documentary but I’m curious to see the range of people being represented. I know as a young designer it’s always rewarding, and inspiring to see people like you in places that were once considered unachievable. It also acts as a strong signal that, yes, there is a space for you in this community.

Osandi’s question is tough question to ask in a space that is dominated by whites. Especially when your part of the people being under represented in the field, and risk being ostracized from the community that you believe you are a part of. Those fears are very real, and do happen. Some of the comments in this forum show why that question isn’t asked so often.

We have to remember the tech / design space accounts for a very low percentage of blacks + latinx’s. Claiming ‘conspiracy’ (which no one has claimed) is an easy way to disregard that there are real policies and actions at play that help keep this number low. Among them the practice of ‘wanting to work with someone you can hangout with’ as a hiring principle; lack of inside connections, inability to afford to take unpaid internships to help propel a career; these are real concerns that help contribute to our low numbers.

What’s more trouble is saying it doesn’t exist, especially when it clearly does. The numbers show it.

Asking for an awareness and representation shouldn’t be ridiculed. As designers we talk about the power empathy has in our process. We should try using empathy outside our design process as well.

Hey awesome people, David from InVision here,

Sorry for the slow response, at an event today and just catching up. By no means am I aiming to stop the great conversations here because they're incredibly important ones that should be had (it's clear by the passion in this thread)!

I just want to make sure you know that we are also VERY aware and sensitive of this. Without too many spoilers, the importance of diversity in the success of a design team / design process keeps coming up and is actually one of the recurring themes that we'll be discussing in depth in the full-length film.

The trailer was cut a while back and the good news is that we're actually STILL filming (at about 45 people so far!). Although the aim of the film is not to primarily discuss diversity and tech, we've worked hard to make sure the full-length film highlights a diverse group of people.

A big challenge with any film is getting access to really busy peoples' time, so please, please reach out to me at davidmalpass[at]invisionapp[dot]com if you have a warm intro to someone you think would be great in the film. We still have some gaps in the story!

(P.s. Thanks @Maurice Cherry for the suggestions if you have any contact info I would love intros!)

It's frustrating when something that looks this great doesn't go the extra mile to find a more diverse group of people to interview. Even on a male to female ratio it is bad. It's not like the diversity is hiding anywhere, they could have found it if they actually looked.

So what's the perfect black/asian/latino/white/etc. ratio that properly "represents the community"? What's more, if the industry is made up mostly of white males, wouldn't "representing the community" mean featuring even less minorities? And when did Invision even claim to be representing the community in the first place?

This is a serious and important matter, but this seems like a very simplistic way to approach it…

EVERYTHING IS RACIST!!

Some of these comments...my word. Like my mama always says, "a hit dog will holler."

TL;DR for anyone coming to this thread for the first time:

The overwhelmingly white male audience of DN gets upset after seeing a documentary depict their overwhelmingly white male-ness.

Miraculously, not a single person complains about scroll jacking on the linked site.

Possibly the dumbest thing I've read in a while. First, you're judging a trailer without knowing it's actual contents. Second, these silicon valley guys didn't just show up on the scene. They're men and women who've been sold out to the startup lifestyle since it's conception (80's, 90's early 2000's). I think with everything shifting toward worshipping "the next startup success" story, we'll see lots more diversity. Give it time, buddy. Not everything is a racist conspiracy.

Honest question, who would you chose to bring to the table?

I think Ije Nwokorie, CEO of Wolff Olins, would be an interesting shout.

I came here to say here come the barrage of Angry Internet People™ crying "make your own movie" but saw that it had already happened.

I see the lack of minorities as a problem as well, and I think InVision could have done a better job of finding design leaders who aren't white. I see this as a bigger problem than this documentary: Why is it that most design leaders at large tech companies white? What is being done to address the issue of the lack of diversity in design and tech leadership?

Is the insinuation here that it's a conspiracy among white people to make documentaries that intentionally discriminate non-whites? There doesn't have to be an underlying structural deception to everything. I was just at Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in London and the vast majority of participants where white young males. This does not mean that Microsoft are discriminating anyone.

Not to mention every single one of them represent the design status quo… there is nothing disruptive about any of those companies at this current time.

Yet more painfully dull Valley/SanFran monoculture

This documentary isn't about "the design community.. read the synopsis. I'm interested to hear what all these people have to say, but it's not because they're white or just because they're designers. It's because of their positions and influence and the success of the companies they work at.

OP - Do you know of any non-white designers who should have been featured? Are you just raising the question to be contrarian, or do you think there are people who have been overlooked who shouldn't have been? Offering your suggestions would be a much more constructive comment, and I think would have started a better discussion.

My thoughts on OP's questions:

TLDR: The hurdles that exist for marginalized people in this industry are elevated to a seemly unreachable plateau when we have white washed 'documentaries' and media like this being distributed. This is an unintended consequence of Invision's lack of inclusion.

• -

Q: How does Invision's documentary represent the design community when everyone featured is white?

A: Simply put: It doesn't represent the design community; the documentary represents Invision's marketing interests. If Invision wanted to portray itself as a company that recognizes marginalized designers at high levels of success, they would have went out of their way to include some. Invision dropped the ball here. Perhaps they'll do a sequel.

Q: There aren't smart people of color at these companies who serve a design function? Sure there are, but why don't we see their faces, know their names, learn about and come to understand their perspective?

A: This is a good point, and again, it kind of boils down to the purpose and intent of the documentary. Its not Invision's responsibility to provide the perspectives that the industry is lacking. They're not the New York Times of the design industry, they make prototyping tools. Its interesting that some you hold the company in such high regard that you would project that responsibility onto them. I can imagine that there had to be at least one person involved in the production of this documentary that had the foresight to bring this issue up. It's entirely on Invision to decide what actually goes into their 'documentary', and this time around it looks like they cut all the corners in respect to diversity. This obviously sends a sour message, hence the debate here.

• -

On the general topic of diversity in tech –

This sort of documentary is going to get loads of attention from a lot of students, educators, aspiring designers, and so on. This is what Invision wants, obviously. A fraction of those eyeballs will be people that simply won't identify with the individuals featured in the film. This isn't to say that there isn't an opportunity to enjoy the flick, and learn from its contents. But there will be people that will ask themselves: "Where are the people like me? How can I get to where those guys are at?" This creates a perceived barrier to entry for these viewers, and that can be more damaging to long term diversity than Invision may realize.

Did they think this thru properly? I doubt it.

Are a few people in their office reading this thread and kicking themselves today? Probably.

Should you boycott Invision because of their blinding lack of inclusion? Whatever lets you sleep at night.

/rant

Nice to see this conversation happening.

Why are they all product designers? There is a whole lot of disruption happening outside of product.

This is a rhetorical question. Please stop asking questions to which you already know the answer.

I really was wondering why I had such a cringey reaction to this trailer, and I'm pretty sure you nailed it here. It really looks like a parody of a stereotype.

At least we now have an idea about who has empathy and who doesn't. Props to the mindful and aware ones on this thread. :)

Absolutely amazed by the lack of awareness from designers here about the power of design to distort and carry an agenda. The "mirror" argument is flawed since who designs the mirror shows what if seen. A documentary is not intrinsically neutral the same way a typeface isn't neutral. The person doing the designing or shooting comes to it with their own notions and views of the world, subconscious or otherwise. This underpins the concerns behind the lack of diversity in tech where a homogenous group of designers is creating a supposedly neutral product.

This Offscreen blogpost might give you a slightly different perspective on the topic

Just saw it last night and I'm honestly not sure what film you were watching. The designers in the one I saw were very diverse. Many women, a couple of black men & an older Asian guy. But somehow you only saw white men. I'd recommend watching it again without the "let me find something wrong with it" glasses.

inb4 invison threads 'We Also Fucked Up'

When the title contains bullshit valley-speak, I always take the hint and avoid it.