{"id":7278,"date":"2020-02-21T17:35:47","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T22:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=7278"},"modified":"2021-03-10T11:46:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T16:46:43","slug":"ageism-in-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/ageism-in-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Design Have an Ageism Problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

\u201cI want to stress the importance of being young and technical. Young people are just smarter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That quote came from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, during a 2007 event at Stanford University. And it\u2019s indicative of a larger trend\u2014maybe even an overall acceptance\u2014of ageism in the workplace. Design is no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative industries have an incentive to stay on the cutting edge. We\u2019re always showcasing the new tool, the new font, the new hip studio. The result is a design culture that values innovation over experience. Experience, in this case, is a code word for age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does design have an ageism problem? The short answer is yes. And not just because the country has an ageism problem. The stereotyping and discriminating<\/a> of people based on their age<\/a> is so prevalent that two out of three workers in the U.S. over age 45 have seen or experienced it at work, according to this AARP study<\/a>. In all likelihood, with the trends of the workforce getting older\u201418.8% of Americans ages 65 and older worked in 2019<\/a>\u2014this is just going to become a more pressing issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, we\u2019re going to explore some of the indicators that the design world might have an ageism problem, and what we can do about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Ageism? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ageism has been on the rise in the workplace since the term was coined by Dr. Robert Butler<\/a> in 1969. And while the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act<\/a> (ADEA) has been legally protecting employees age 40 or older from age discrimination, it hasn\u2019t stopped the issue from growing more rampant. Even with legal protections in place, there are many kinds of discrimination against older workers that are insidiously hard to trace\u2014and they are subtly re-enforced by the culture at large. Out-dated assumptions about older people\u2019s physical and mental limitations show up in our movies<\/a> (as well as Hollywood<\/a>), advertisements<\/a>, and even stock images<\/a>. They\u2019re portrayed as forgetful, easily confused, anti-social, and just generally behind the times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative fields have their own specific age stereotypes to contend with\u2014including the notion that innovation is the domain of youth<\/a>, and that one\u2019s creativity fades with age<\/a>. There\u2019s also the issue of the technological barrier\u2014digital ageism<\/a>. The idea that certain tools can\u2019t be grasped by people of a certain age has long plagued ageist Silicon Valley<\/a>, as evidenced by that Zuckerberg quote.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These implicit biases against older people get lobbed at seasoned workers on a daily basis, and can have an impact on everything from water cooler interactions<\/a>, to promotions, to getting a foot in the door in the first place.<\/a> They point not only to the pervasiveness of the issue, but also to how difficult it is to prove age discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Designers Saying?  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each year, AIGA puts together a survey to understand what\u2019s happening in the design industry. In 2019, 9,429 people participated in the Design Census, sharing their age, gender, salary, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
From AIGA’s Design Census 2019<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The average age of the participants was 35, with only 279 contributors over the age of 60. Whether that age cutoff is an indication that the design industry caters to young people, or that only young people have the time to take surveys, is unclear. That being said, 50 of survey-takers wrote that they felt ageism was a critical issue facing the industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one written testimonial, a 64-year-old graphic designer called ageism \u201churtful and absurd\u201d: \u201cI can get to the heart of the design faster than anyone I know, yet I go to job interviews and there’s an immediate assumption that my work and aesthetic are \u2018dated.\u2019\u201d Another 52-year-old graphic designer confessed to also experiencing ageism at work: \u201cI have been told that because I’m older I am no longer innovative. Bullshit. I love the saying, \u2018I’m not 52, I’m 25 with 30 years of experience!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many reasons why experience should be considered an asset, especially in creative fields. For starters, seasoned designers have developed all the soft skills<\/a> that make for good client services\u2014they\u2019re empathetic, diligent, and good communicators. In an article for Adobe\u2019s 99U<\/a>, advertising consultant Cindy Gallop explained that nothing phases an older worker\u2014that\u2019s why they can better handle crises. They\u2019ve made mistakes and learned from them. Additionally, experienced designers know how to design for an (ever-growing) aging population, whereas an unseasoned designer might create a piece with a type that\u2019s too small for a large portion of its audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can Design Confront Ageism?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Gallop explained<\/a>, in order to start changing the conversation about age, we have to start making it a topic of conversation. We have to talk about age in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent report from the World Health Organization\u2019s research on ageism<\/a> shows the same thing. A team of researchers compiled over 64 studies on anti-ageism programs that have taken place in the U.S. in the past 50 years. What they found is that intergenerational communication actually can significantly lessen prejudice against older adults. In other words, exposure and dialogue have a positive impact on age discrimination.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While bringing awareness to the problem of ageism won\u2019t make discrimination disappear, it\u2019s a start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Check back next week for the next installment in our series on ageism to learn more about the stereotypes facing seasoned designers, and how to combat them. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Creative industries have an incentive to stay on the cutting edge. Experience often gives way to innovation. Does design have a problem with ageism?<\/div>\n

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