04
Lesser Recognised Areas of Diversity
Marriage & Civil Partnership
Marriage or civil partnership, like most of the lesser recognised protected characteristics, is an issue closely related to other diversity issues. In this case, race and sexual orientation.
The representation of marriage in branding images often comes down to presenting a couple, and the choice of whom these couples feature makes all the difference in terms of inclusive representation.
Recently, marriage equality for LGBTQ+ individuals has been at the forefront of the media, but it is also important to represent racially and physically diverse couples.
Imani Photo Co, is a wedding photography company founded by Nadiya Nacorda, a mixed race African and Asian woman, after she experienced difficulties finding her own culture represented in wedding imagery.
Her portfolio is demonstrative of the uniqueness of weddings for people of different cultures, genders and identities. Images such as these are the gold standard when it comes to photography of couples who represent the diversity we see in the real world.
“We are consistently engaged in the conversation of social justice and representation as it relates to the wedding industry and the larger context of media and imagery.”
Nadiya Nacorda
Pregnancy & Maternity
Pregnancy and maternity (or motherhood) is a topic which is often not represented in corporate imagery in particular, because of the interlinking gender biases when it comes to pregnant or working mothers.
Some might see the workplace as not being suitable for women with children, preferring to stick to the traditional “stay at home mum” stereotypes.
However, a US study by Jane Gottesman found that more than 80% of women work up until the month they give birth. Knowing the value of showing women in control of their bodies, Gottesman teamed up with the organisation Game Face to create an image series to normalise pregnancy in the workplace, and tackle the issue of why women still fear workplace discrimination around pregnancy.
When thinking about inclusively it should be noted that pregnancy is a factor which intersects with trans gender identities. When it comes to inclusive imagery it may sometimes be difficult to represent one group without alienating another.
As long as imagery is inclusive across the board, it should be possible to make people feel included somewhere within the brand imagery, even if not in every single image.
Sexual Orientation
Representing a variety of sexual orientations can be difficult due to the fact that someone’s sexuality isn’t generally apparent just by looking at them.
One way to represent diverse sexual orientations is through showcasing diverse couples, as discussed in the marriage and civil partnership section. Another is to include features that LGBTQ+ people might identify with. In photography, this could mean using LGBTQ+ models in shots, and in design work, incorporating physical characteristics that might be common among members of the community, for instance: characters who don’t fit the traditional idea of masculine / feminine.
“When photographing people in the LGBTQ+ community, it’s important to take pictures that are as diverse as the community itself. This includes older individuals and couples, interracial families, queer youth getting ready for their high school prom, or a middle-aged, non-binary person with their partner.”
Grete Miller for Shutterstock.com
As detailed by Ansley Luce in a blog post on MediaCause.com, the issue with using imagery representing LGBTQ+ people is often that doing so it still considered a political statement to many. Therefore, authentic imagery can be hard to come by.
Despite the LGBTQ+ community also being more likely than the heterosexual community to be made up of racial diverse couples, media representation and imagery is still largely focused on young, white, gay men. While these people of course exist, it is important to represent a wider range of authentic individuals.
"The issue with using imagery representing LGBTQ+ people is often that doing so it still considered a political statement to many."
Religion or Belief
Religion is another characteristic that isn’t always easily identifiable on sight. However, there are items or garments associated with some religions which could help them be more easily identified by consumers.
For instance, the Pagri turban worn by Sikh men, Yarmulkes worn by some Jewish men and the Hijab dress code followed by many muslim women. This of course can be shown through photography, but is also effective when shown through designed icons and illustrations.
For instance, the company Atlassian, who are response for collaboration and project management software such as Trello and Confluence, have a collection of ‘meeples’ - avatars which are used as profile pictures by users.
As the ‘meeples’ are designed to directly represent users, Atlassian have taken steps to add options to represent a diverse clientele, including some which include religious head wear.
“We expanded on how our meeples express gender and individuality with more hairstyles and clothing options. We added to the number of cultures and religions that can be expressed and experimented with new ways to present meeples of varying ability, starting with the addition of glasses and hearing aids.”
Sara Vanslyke, lead designer for Atlassian
Kuala Lumpur, MY
Level 30, The Gardens North Tower Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia +44 (0) 161 528 9451
© Epigram Communications & Design Limited
Kuala Lumpur, MY
Level 30, The Gardens North Tower Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia +44 (0) 161 528 9451
© Epigram Communications & Design Limited