The Social Significance of Gender Codes in Current Web Design
- The article highlights gender codes in design, particularly in web design, by means of current examples. Different aspects of gender-specific design are looked at in detail and their inherent problems discussed: on the one hand the development of a special solution (gender-specific for women), on the other hand, web design with reduced functionality and simplification of information (i.e. image representation) which sometimes even leads to a negation of technology. The article illustrates that gender codes and stereotypical role models can be embodied on different design levels of web design (use and artefact): in structure/navigation, in creative elements by the use of shape, colour and imagery and on a textual level. These design decisions have an impact on the power of users to act, their individual gender identity and the structural gender identity/social perception of gender. The article demonstrates that gender codes in current web design are very present and aims to sensitize the topic.
| Author: | Claudia Herling, Katja M. BeckerORCiD |
|---|---|
| URN: | urn:nbn:de:hbz:1010-opus4-32842 |
| ISSN: | 2589-7098 |
| Parent Title (English): | Cubic Journal |
| Document Type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Date of Publication (online): | 2019/11/20 |
| Year of first Publication: | 2019 |
| Publishing Institution: | Westfälische Hochschule Gelsenkirchen Bocholt Recklinghausen |
| Release Date: | 2019/11/20 |
| Tag: | composition; design process; gender stereotypes; gender-sensitive design; gender-specific design |
| Issue: | 2 (Gender in Design – The GREAT Small. Other – Different – Willful) |
| First Page: | 14 |
| Last Page: | 31 |
| Institutes: | Fachbereiche / Informatik und Kommunikation |
| Licence (German): | Creative Commons - Namensnennung - Keine Bearbeitung |



