Summary: This article looks at why creating diverse and inclusive content is not only important, but also something your customers are looking for.
Your customers want to see themselves represented within your items, so consider race, gender, body type, age, religion and other factors described below. We also discuss the importance of terminology and what to avoid.
“We are welcoming, respectful and supportive.”
Why is Diversity Representation Important?
Creating Diverse Content
Creating Inclusive Content
Using the Right Terminology
Why is diversity representation important?
As a global community of creatives, you have the unique and powerful opportunity to champion diversity through the amazing things that you create. More and more, customers, organizations and individuals alike, want to see themselves represented in a way that is authentic and real.
Inclusion and diversity is what makes us stronger, brings us together and shapes the lives of all those who are surrounded by it. Your role as a creative, designer and author is what helps get us closer to a more respectful and equal world.
Through inclusive and diverse representation, you can produce creative work that not only connects with customers but also reflects them, in a more considerate and meaningful way. Looking at your items through this lens helps to ensure that many more people have the opportunity to feel valued and accepted - anywhere in the Envato ecosystem and beyond.
This is why diversity matters, and with your help we can continue to build and promote a content library that truly celebrates and represents the vast and varied world we live in today.
This article will help guide you in creating inclusive and diverse content, but is by no means an exhaustive list of things for you to think about. While our Acceptable Use Policy lists clear examples of behaviour that is not OK on Envato sites, sometimes it takes a little extra thought to ensure that your content is welcoming, supportive and respectful.
We promise you, it’s worth the time! Let’s get started.
Creating Diverse Content
- Envato values and appreciates diversity and the strength it gives us all. We embrace unique content that shatters stereotypes and showcases underrepresented communities and topics.
- Envato’s marketplace and library should represent our wonderfully diverse global community. Everyone likes to see themselves represented in the media, but when you aren’t in the majority it can be harder to be seen and represented. As content creators, you have a unique opportunity to champion diversity through your items, be that in gender, race, body type, sexuality, religion, ability, location or ethnicity.
- If you regularly feature people in your items, be aware that your ‘go-to’ preview image doesn’t always need to be the same character. Try featuring people from different backgrounds in your next item, or people with disabilities, or different body types.
Here’s a great article on diversity and why it’s vitally important in the media, have a read: Why On-Screen Representation Actually Matters, or click here for some great examples : Art for All: Celebrate Diversity in Design
Creating Inclusive content
- Remember that not all of the community will share your race, religion, gender, sexuality, gender identity, age etc but everyone should be treated with respect. We should be creating an environment where everyone feels respected, connected, and that they can contribute meaningfully and freely. So:
- Try and extend your horizons to create more diverse content, but be mindful of drawing on stereotypes or caricatures to represent other races, religions or ethnicities - this could be seen as racist or insensitive and/or result in cultural appropriation.
- Please keep in mind that some historical symbols can also have certain connotations.
We understand that it’s not always so clear-cut, so we encourage you to do your own research into the content you create.
Using the right Terminology
- Please be mindful of the language you use in your items, tags, descriptions, titles and previews. These are important and influence the overall community and marketplace.
- Derogatory language is not OK and this includes swear words, overly sexual language and racist terms.
- If you feature people in your items, be considerate with your terminology. Speak about others the way we would all like to be addressed; kindly, and with respect.
- While this is clear when it comes to hate speech, unacceptable language can also mean language that makes any group feel marginalised or ‘less than’ others.
- Take care when tagging people in your items; if you have a diverse group of business people, try to tag all people (for example all races, nationalities or genders) and not just one or two out of the group. This will not only make your item easier to discover for customers, but also ensure that it doesn’t leave the impression that only certain people ‘belong’ in that scenario.
If you see any content on an Envato site that you feel is not welcoming, supportive or respectful, please let our Author team know by dropping us a note here.
No one can be perfect all the time, but we will always do our best to act in accordance with our values and ask that Authors (as valued members of our community) do the same.
These values are in addition, and complementary, to the Acceptable Use Policy which we will continue to enforce. Nothing in this article is intended to limit or otherwise diminish when and how we act on that policy. Please refer back to the Acceptable Use Policy for more information.
If you would like some more resources on all things inclusion and diversity, or just want to have a chat about this, please feel free to reach out to us!