I know my soap is masculine. Because it’s Italian (sapone = masculine noun). Does that affect how I feel about it? Fascinating studies have been done to see how grammatical gender assignments influence judgments. For example, the word “key” is masculine in German and feminine in Spanish. German speakers use words like hard, heavy, jagged, metal, and useful to describe a key while Spanish speakers describe them as golden, intricate, little, lovely, and tiny.

我知道我的肥皂是男性的。 因为它是意大利语(sapone =男性名词)。 那会影响我的感觉吗？ 已经进行了引人入胜的研究，以查看语法性别分配如何影响判断。 例如，“ key”一词在德语中是男性，在西班牙语中是女性。 德语使用者会用坚硬，沉重，锯齿状，金属等词语来形容琴键，而西班牙裔则会将其形容为金黄色，错综复杂，小巧，可爱和小巧。

I want to explore the decision to incorporate masculine or feminine design aspects into a product. You might think it’s as simple as making a shampoo bottle black with sharp angles to appeal to men, or launching a set of office products in an array of purple colors to appeal to women. But industry has hit some tough lessons on this approach (uhm, remember the pens “for her?”). Knowing when gender-neutral is the right path to follow is a key decision in an environment where blatant gender stereotypes generate backlash.

我想探讨将男性化或女性化的设计方面纳入产品的决定。 您可能会认为这很简单，例如将洗发水瓶变黑成锐利的角度以吸引男性，或者推出一系列紫色的办公用品以吸引女性。 但是，业界在这种方法上遇到了一些严峻的教训 (嗯，还记得那些“为她而设的笔吗？”)。 在公然的性别定型观念产生强烈反响的环境中，知道何时不分性别是正确的道路是一个关键决定。

When we consider that every person is a rich mix of strength and kindness, bravery and compassion, of both toughness and gentleness, how can we distinguish which of these could ever be assigned to just one gender? So when we design a product, it’s really more about the job to be done, the experience that we are hoping to deliver for our end user, our Experiencer. A tough job probably calls for more rugged “masculine” design features. A job that creates a pampering experience needs a softer more “feminine” design. Mixing these signals can come off as awkward and distracting.

当我们认为每个人都是力量与善良，英勇与同情，韧性与温柔的完美结合时，我们如何区分其中哪一个可以分配给一个性别呢？ 因此，当我们设计产品时，实际上更多的是要完成的工作，我们希望为最终用户， 体验者提供的体验 。 艰巨的工作可能需要更坚固的“男性化”设计功能。 创造呵护体验的工作需要更柔和，更“女性化”的设计。 混合这些信号可能会变得笨拙和分散注意力。

Deciding to design a product to be masculine, feminine or gender-neutral, has to be deliberate and thoughtful. You need to know your audience. Here’s how some companies are navigating this evolving landscape.

决定将产品设计为男性，女性或不分性别的设计，必须经过深思熟虑。 您需要了解您的听众。 以下是一些公司在这种不断发展的格局中进行导航的方式。

不只是为了他 (not just for him)

I know very feminine women who love very masculine products. They like the edginess of them, the toughness. If you want to appeal to these strong, confident women with a line of products you should definitely avoid a “girly” approach.

我知道非常女性化的女人喜欢男性化的产品。 他们喜欢他们的前卫，韧性。 如果您想通过一系列产品吸引这些坚强，自信的女性，则绝对应该避免采用“少女化”的方法。

Recent advertising has shown a growing appreciation for this as they speak directly to women with a product (the very same product) they typically market to men. Consider GMC’s commercial celebrating a woman’s preference for a pickup truck, or the Coors Light “made to chill” ad that understands the relief a woman feels when taking off her bra at the end of a long day. Speaking of beer, some beer companies have attempted to create a product specifically for women with dismal results. Why dismal? Well, first of all the products were condescending in their design. But more importantly, women who drink beer not only like the taste of beer, they like the masculinity of beer. I challenge you to consider that ‘masculine’ needn’t mean “for men.” Can you imagine if GMC attempted to design a heavy duty truck just for women? I cringe at the thought.

最近的广告对此表示出越来越多的赞赏，因为他们直接向女性宣传他们通常向男性销售的产品(完全相同的产品)。 考虑一下GMC的商业广告，庆祝女性偏爱皮卡车，或者说是Coors Light“ 让人放松 ”的广告，它理解了女性在漫长的一天结束时脱下胸罩后会感到的缓解。 说到啤酒，一些啤酒公司试图为妇女创造一种效果不佳的产品。 为什么令人沮丧？ 好吧，首先，所有产品的设计都屈尊。 但更重要的是，喝啤酒的女性不仅喜欢啤酒的味道，还喜欢啤酒的阳刚之气。 我向您提出挑战，认为“男性”不一定意味着“对于男人”。 您能想象GMC是否试图为女性设计重型卡车吗？ 我为这个想法感到畏缩。

As people look to embrace and express the different aspects of their personality, they will look for brands that understand this. The woman who loves makeup, hair extensions, long finger nails and fashion is also the woman who dons the orange Carhartt hat as a striking masculine feature to highlight the strength of her femininity. “Don’t underestimate me,” she’s saying, “I am tougher than this pretty exterior might suggest.”

当人们寻求拥抱并表达个性的不同方面时，他们会寻找了解这一点的品牌。 喜欢化妆，接发，长长的指甲和时尚的女人，还是戴橙色的Carhartt帽子作为醒目的男性特征的女人，以彰显女性气质。 她说：“别小看我，我比这个漂亮的外表可能要坚强。”

It’s about making it accessible. Forgo the derogatory gender stereotype while retaining masculinity.

这是关于使其可访问。 放弃贬义的性别刻板印象，同时保留男性气质。

I like examples. What about razors? First we had razors for men. Then we had razors specifically made for women. The women’s razor section became an odd sea of pink and purple. Fast-forward and the company behind Harry’s, a successful line of direct-to-consumer men’s shaving products, launches a modern razor line tailored for women under the Flamingo brand name. The color scheme? It’s inspired by interior design (not a Disney princess color palette).

我喜欢例子。 那剃须刀呢？ 首先，我们有男士剃须刀。 然后我们有专门为女性设计的剃刀。 妇女的剃刀区变成了粉红色和紫色的奇异海洋。 快进公司和成功的直接面向消费者的男士剃须产品系列Harry's背后的公司，推出了以Flamingo品牌为女性量身定制的现代剃刀系列。 配色方案？ 它的灵感来自于室内设计(不是迪士尼公主的调色板)。

Every Man Jack does a nice job catering to a male audience with a masculine package. When they decided to offer a women’s line they were able to retain their unique product silhouette and adjusted the color scheme and fragrance. Same family of products with a deliberate shift in design to appeal to specific and distinct gender targets.

每个男人杰克都做得很好，用男性包装来迎合男性观众。 当他们决定提供女士系列时，他们能够保留其独特的产品轮廓并调整配色方案和香味。 同一个产品系列，在设计上有意进行了调整，以吸引特定且不同的性别目标。

对他来说很特别 (special for him)

Toothpaste just for men? Really? There are several “just for men” product launch examples that I won’t go into because my goal is to highlight good design. Basically, if you’re marketing your product to men, the gender stereotype must be tasteful (of course) and it should make sense. Men know they have the same teeth, the same hair, the same pile of laundry to do as everybody else. If you design a product for men, make sure it’s respectful.

男士专用牙膏？ 真？ 我不会讲几个“仅针对男性”的产品发布示例，因为我的目标是突出优秀的设计。 基本上，如果您要将产品推销给男性，则性别刻板印象必须(当然)必须有品位，并且应该有意义。 男人知道他们和其他人一样拥有相同的牙齿，相同的头发，相同的衣物。 如果您为男士设计产品，请确保它受到尊重。

人人产品 (everyman products)

When Andrew Glass, founder of skin-care brand Non Gender Specific, realized how segregated the personal care industry was, he had the idea to develop a brand with absolutely no gender boundaries. “That is how we became known as ‘the brand for all humans,’” he says.

护肤品牌“ 非性别特定”的创始人安德鲁·格拉斯(Andrew Glass)意识到个人护理行业的分化程度时，他想到了建立一个绝对没有性别界限的品牌的想法。 他说：“这就是我们被称为'全人类的品牌'的原因。”

I mean really, we all wash our face. Because skin is skin. And whose skin doesn’t like to be pampered? We’re seeing a shift away from “men’s” and “women’s” products, and the trend is only likely to grow from here with a rise in the launch of authentic products that work for everybody.

我的意思是真的，我们都洗脸。 因为皮肤就是皮肤。 谁的皮肤不喜欢被宠爱？ 我们正在看到人们从“男士”和“女士”产品转移的趋势，并且趋势只有随着适用于所有人的正宗产品的推出而从这里开始增长。

There’s a slew of brands that have launched sleek packaging and a neutral color palette in a deliberate effort to be unisex. But sometimes brands shy away from making any binary (masculine or feminine) design statement and fail to connect in an emotional way. Inkey List is gender-neutral, sure, but lacks personality.

有许多品牌推出了时尚的包装和中性的调色板，以求男女通用。 但是有时候品牌会避开发表任何二元(男性或女性)设计声明，并且无法以情感方式进行联系。 肯定地说，Inkey List不分性别，但缺乏个性。

Dermalogica does a better job balancing gender and a sense of clinical efficacy with a bit more style.

Dermalogica在平衡性别和临床疗效感方面做得更好，具有更多风格。

While First Aid Beauty (FAB) doesn’t tout itself as unisex, their fan base is made up of both men and women, and FAB isn’t afraid of color or pattern.

尽管“ 急救美容” (FAB)并没有宣称自己是男女通用的，但他们的粉丝群是由男人和女人组成的，FAB并不惧怕颜色或图案。

Youth To The People stays true to their natural super-ingredient messaging with their simple color palette designed intentionally to be accessible to anyone.

青年向人民保留其自然的超级成分信息，其简单的调色板旨在让任何人都可以使用。

What about beyond the personal care aisle? Household products play in both worlds too, with rugged features to address their effectiveness at solving tough problems like scrubbing and removing stains, but also graceful features that make them nicer to hold and even keep on display.

那超出个人护理通道呢？ 家用产品在这两个方面也都发挥着作用，其坚固的功能可解决其在解决诸如擦洗和去除污渍等棘手问题上的功效，而且还具有优美的功能，使它们更易于握住，甚至可以保持展示。

For gender-neutral products, the focus needs to be on performance and the specific benefits they offer, because isn’t that what really matters with any product? Your product should target the outcome your Experiencer is looking to have, the job they want to get done, not their gender.

对于不分性别的产品，重点应该放在性能及其提供的特定收益上，因为这对任何产品都不重要吗？ 您的产品应该针对您的体验者希望获得的结果，他们想要完成的工作而不是性别。

你做你 (you do you)

Knowing when to mindfully leverage a masculine or feminine approach to better target your key customer, or when to take a gender-neutral path, requires a clear and openminded view. You want to honor the individuality of your product user and create the right emotional connection with them. Your brand, your design, your product experience should line up with the values of the people you serve. They will then pick it up with the sense of being understood.

要知道何时应谨慎地使用男性化或女性化的方法来更好地锁定主要客户，或何时采取不分性别的方法，则需要清晰而开放的看法。 您想尊重产品用户的个性，并与他们建立正确的情感联系。 您的品牌，设计，产品体验应与您所服务的人们的价值观保持一致。 然后，他们会带着被理解的感觉来接听。

If you’d like to bat around some ideas on where your product line should fall on the gender continuum, email me.

如果您想了解一些有关您的产品系列应归入性别连续统的想法，请 给我发电子邮件 。