4B Collective is a network of leading designers, strategists, ergonomists and engineers who help organizations understand and satisfy women. All 4 billion of them.
As individuals we wear multiple hats, as consultants, industrial designers, digital designers, strategists, engineers, professors, architects and start-up founders with decades of design, brand and innovation experience. As a collective, we join forces to create the products and services we wish existed for women. 4B Collective was born in 2013, the brain-child of the former founders of the Femme Den, who spent the aughts studying gender through design and earned Fast Company's, "Master of Design" distinction.
Gender impacts design.
The male-dominated design and innovation industry lacks female perspective. As a result, companies often resort to a stereotypical “pink it and shrink it” design strategy that frustrates and alienates women. 4B is a collective of expert strategists, designers, and engineers who deeply understand how to design for women. We help companies create products and experiences that women love.
Design & Innovation professionals are 85% male
Women make or influence 85% of all consumer purchases
Companies that understand women have a huge economic advantage.
A very high percentage of products and services in many industries do not meet women's needs. In Healthcare, women make 69% of all decisions and 66% feel misunderstood. In Financial Services, women control 73% of household spending and 84% feel misunderstood. In Automotive, women make 65% of all purchases and 74% feel misunderstood. In Consumer Electronics, women influence 90% of all purchases, 85% feel misunderstood.
We get emotional, and physical.
Designers, engineers, sales and marketing teams and many other talented and hardworking people strive to satisfy their customers, of regardless of gender. And yet, so many women are left wondering — Do they have a clue who I am?
To create a good product, a designer has to understand the user. Ergonomics, function and aesthetics can and should be influenced by sex and gender. Adding females to a design and development team doesn’t automatically create a female-conducive project or work environment. The fields of product design and engineering have historically been populated by males. The methodologies employed and the cultures that have evolved emanated from male values. In many cases the way products and services are designed is based on the way males would design things.
Our holistic and interdisciplinary approach mirrors how women think, behave, and make decisions, resulting in experiences that women love. We get women.
Our members clients.
We help you get women.
We work with global corporations, international organizations and tiny startups. If you think your company or organization can do better with women, let us know. We’ll help you to identify untapped opportunities, short and long term. Ways that we can assist your team or project:
Design and development. In full engagement we take on the design and development of products and services. We’ll identify the most appropriate people in our network to work on a project.
Workshops. Sometimes you need to get everyone in your organization thinking on the same page. Our workshops serve as a good way to get started. A workshop can take place as a half day or full day session, or a two day event in which we also coach your team by addressing projects you are already be working on or are about to start.
Design research. Research studies we conduct are both qualitative and quantitative. We realize that not everyone is comfortable speaking about their lives in a conference room, or sitting at a table comprised of a group of strangers. We don’t conduct interviews, we arrange informal, relaxed chats. They work much better.
Coaching. We work with internal design and development teams that have the ability to conceive, develop and launch products and services, but can use coaching at various points along the way.