The instability of Normal

I’ve been talking about the problem of Normal for several years. Go to PostNormal to read about the talks and workshops I do.

The diagram above is just a new one to try and explain the problems of Normal and the benefits of Diversity.

One point, one perspective

There is a particular problem in product design of choosing to adopt the place and perspective of one group of users. Mostly it is because the design team and that group are the same (what is known as the WEIRD problem). There is an easy familiarity between the groups. Sometimes, it is the historic bias to the power and privilege of a group. They have money is the great draw for business design teams.

This single point of place and perspective is a problem. It creates the instability of Normal. If everything is anchored to one point then you are balancing a whole cone of futures onto it.

As a sidenote: Edge Users

That sharing of perspective is also what creates Edge Users. The ‘over there’ness of some groups is because of how designers have chosen to sit with and stick to the place of one particular group. People are not here because of the choice not to be with them, not to welcome them.

The breadth of Diversity

Involving more people, within design teams and within research groups, is how to stabilise the situation.

Instead of one point, it’s multipoint.

The unstable cone becomes a stable column.

Diversity is a better route for design than Normal.

Originally published at https://acuity.design on April 2, 2025.