01 WordPress — Characters & Inclusion

I recently worked on an illustration branding project with WordPress!

A big, intentional value of ours in this project (and mine in general with all projects) was making sure that we were inclusive in our character design, particularly as they have such a broad audience base (25% of the entire web is powered by WP! That's a lot).

I think this is something that tech illustration in general should improve upon. Often I see illustrations that follow the same sort of narrative — dude (often white, much much less often a person of color) sitting at a computer, nice cup of coffee nearby, in a shiny workspace. We have a lot of power as illustrators to design inclusive, diverse experiences for all users who use our products, and not being inclusive by design can also send the message that our products are only for a certain type of user. Just some lovingly observed constructive criticism to the community, from a poc female & fellow illustrator.

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I wrote a full post about the process behind this project & our values here: byalicelee.com/wordpress.

And there's a little more on the official WordPress blog about the project & illustration in general here: blog.wordpress.com