As digital transformation initiatives continue to transform the industry and culture around the globe, much attention has been paid to the Principles of Inclusivity. Basically, the idea that, going forward, we must ensure we are designing and creating products with everyone—and their unique capabilities and culture—in mind. Inclusion has been a hot topic in education for decades, but now more people are talking about it in the workplace, especially as hybrid work rates rise and business owners need to rethink the daily grind. As we move forward redesigning the business world to be more inclusive, I believe there is a lesson to be learned from the past, namely the era of silent cinema. Observe:
Kudos to you if you watched the entirety of Modern Times, it is (in my personal opinion) a hilarious bit of satire that doesn’t feel out of touch nearly a century later. It also is surprisingly inclusive—if only in terms of how wide an audience it can reach. You don’t have to be an English speaker to laugh at the jokes. Charlie Chaplin once said he was a citizen of the world, and that he made films for the world. It was one of the reasons he opposed audio in movies. Center a joke around language and suddenly its audience is that much more limited. By relying on the visual, he opened his film to a much greater market size.
A Growing Focus on Workplace Inclusion
Much of the discussion surrounding workplace inclusion today focuses on the internet. When COVID-19 hit and people had to work from home, many realized that the internet was no longer a luxury but a utility. This was part of the focus at the recent Reuters MOMENTUM 2021 virtual event, which brought together numerous experts to showcase ways to, as one speaker put it, “Let me borrow a phrase: Build back better.”
By prioritizing broadband infrastructure, companies expand their pool of eligible employees, in addition to giving other employees the ability for flexible work environments. Yet while broadband growth is one aspect of inclusion, it is far from the only initiative. One of the reasons I am so bullish on extended reality (XR) development is its growing capacity for inclusion. Eye-tracking, for instance, is a very approachable way to interact with a user interface: no controller, steering wheel, or keyboard required.
Yet, at the end of the day, the idea is the same: How do you convey an idea quickly and effectively in a way that will reach the widest audience? Chaplin clearly thought about this often when he was making his silent films back at the start of the 20th century.
Why Print Aligns with Workplace Inclusion
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to Amber Case discuss the principles of calm technology. The idea was to structure technology—with a particular emphasis on computing—toward helping people focus, rather than seeking to alarm or distract. Let me put it this way: Alexa or Siri might shout “careful, the shower water temperature is too hot!”, whereas a calm interface would simply have the water light up red until it cooled down into a nice, relaxing green. Do you see how this method, in addition to being less noisy, is more inclusive? I don’t need to program dozens of languages to get the message across. Not too different from a silent movie, in a way.
The reason I stress visual first over and over again is, while it is not inclusive to everyone, it does have a very wide audience. And print, despite all the changes and advancements that are impacting the world, remains a visual technology. Sure, you can fill pages upon pages with text (which can be translated into dozens of languages, as well as braille) but, as the saying goes: A picture is worth a thousand words.
| Ikea’s assembly directions are image-reliant so they company doesn’t need to constantly translate them. Source: Mental Floss |
Which is also why I bring up calm technology. While there is a big push to move forward right now, it should not (or ever) be with idea of “newer is automatically better.” I write this as a technology evangelist. Being new and being innovative are two different things. Yes, digital technologies are opening many doors but there are other, older, simpler ways that work just as well (if not better). It would take a lot to convince me that a sign with a picture of a cigarette crossed out is less effective than a virtual assistant reminding employees daily that the area is a no smoking zone.
Print must redefine itself in the 21st century. While it is naïve to say it will go extinct, it is also naïve to think it will continue its position as a dominant communication channel. What it can be, however, is a cost-effective, inclusive, and practical communication tool that employers can still use in the workplace today—even as our workloads shift from traditional to hybrid. This is an opportunity for print as a medium to excel while aligning itself with the technological and social pushes of current society.
Charlie Chaplin would tell you: It doesn’t always have to be high tech; it just needs to delight and entertain its audience.
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