Video: Tech designers should keep women in mind

Everyone wants something different from gadgets and technology, and women are no exception.

Intel's Dr. Genevieve Bell travels the world speaking to people in different circumstances to find out how they use tech products, in order to discover what the chipmaker should be doing next.

"Tech early adopters are well-studied and well-known," she told IT PRO. "Desiging for them isn't great - they're going to buy it anyway."

Instead, Bell looks to discover what ordinary people want from tech - the sorts of people who "didn't build their first PC from scratch."

Because they're less likely to be the engineers behind tech innovations, women have traditionally been less likely to be targeted by tech firms and to have products designed with them in mind. That's starting to change, Bell said.

But designing with women in mind isn't about pretty colours and adding shiny bits, Bell stressed. "Pinking it and shrinking it is not the answer," she said.

Rather, she claimed most women want an easy to use device that works out of the box, because they simply don't have time to fiddle with tech to make it work. They also want a device that reflects their own personal style - and that doesn't just mean pink.

Clearly, ease of use and simplicity aren't just desired by women. By creating devices with these ideas in mind, "what you do is create choices that appeal to all kinds of people," Bell explained. For example, older users who might be less tech savvy would likely appreciate devices which take less configuring, she said.

Women aren't the only ones with tight schedules - ask any working father. And women aren't the only fashionistas; many men take style seriously.

"If you get it right for women, you get it right for a much larger section of the world," Bell said.

For more of Bell's thoughts, view the below clip:

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