Project Defy
Project description
We've all heard the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." But what if that's just an outdated cliché holding back talented individuals and innovative companies? Our project, #FightAgeism, challenges this outdated thinking by tackling the pervasive issue of age discrimination in the hiring process.
We've developed an engaging digital card game that puts players in the hiring hot seat. Through interactive gameplay and strategic decision-making, players confront their own unconscious biases and discover the value of a multi-generational workforce.
Context
Ageism in hiring is a real problem, especially for those over 50. Qualified individuals get overlooked based on age, not ability. This hurts both job seekers and companies who miss out on valuable talent and diverse perspectives.
Our research revealed that small companies, often lacking dedicated HR departments or structured hiring processes, are particularly vulnerable to age bias. With this in mind, we designed #FightAgeism to be a practical and accessible tool for these companies to raise awareness and promote inclusive hiring practices.
Key Features
Interactive Gameplay: Players build teams in rounds, uncovering candidate information bit by bit.
Strategic Decision-Making: Each candidate has a "cost," and players must manage a budget while assembling their team.
Bias Confrontation: The game mechanics subtly reveal how unconscious biases can influence hiring decisions.
Debriefing Session: Facilitates discussion and reflection on ageism and its impact.
AI-Powered Content: (Future Feature) Allows the game to adapt to different industries and company types for a personalized experience.
Results
The "#FightAgeism" card game proved to be a success! Through testing and feedback, we observed the potential to:
Increase awareness:
Players can demonstrate a deeper understanding of ageism and its impact on hiring decisions. They can recognize their own biases and the potential consequences of those biases.
Challenge stereotypes:
The game can help break down stereotypes about older workers, showcasing their diverse skills, experience, and value to a team. Players could express a greater appreciation for the contributions of older workers.
Promote discussion:
The game can spark meaningful conversations about diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Players can engage in thoughtful discussions about the benefits of age diversity and how to create a more inclusive work environment.
About the project group
We are a diverse group of talented students from different fields of the IT environment and different backgrounds. As such, our design identity is defined by what brings us together as designers, as developers and as students which helps us unite not only as a team but with the user, we are United by Design.
Our key values as designers are a bold and stylized product that focuses in the user needs while at the same time presenting a different and fun POV to an otherwise common problem. This is greatly portrayed in this project, as our design strategies, methodologies and core skills are ever present from the Empathise phase to the Design process. Using the Design Thinking and the Agile methods in a span of 6 weeks helped us devise the perfect product for the #FightAgeism campaign.
