THE COLOUR + GENDER FRAMEWORK: RE/DECOLOURING GENDERED SYMBOLISM IN PRODUCT LANGUAGE

Designers use product language to construct meaning through parameters of form and surface. Among these, colour plays a central role in embedding gender associations and narrowing the imagined user by sex and gender. Market practice still relies on the pink-blue dichotomy, reinforcing binary assumptions and implicitly excluding individuals according to social conventions. Yet colour may also support alternative pathways beyond overused market-driven gender-targeting strategies, opening the way for more inclusive design approaches. This paper tests the Colour + Gender framework, which addresses two persistent gaps in design education: the uncritical use of colour as a carrier of meaning and the limited resources and knowledge for recognising how gender shapes product languages. The study draws on a qualitative focus group with product design students. The session combined reflection on positionality, a chromatic mapping exercise, and a recolouring task, all examined through a gender lens. Participants analysed selected products to surface their interpretations of gendered meaning and to assess how such reflection informs design practice. Results confirm recurring relational patterns in colour parameters: lightness acts as a directional cue, mid-range values increase ambiguity, and extreme saturation reinforces binary readings. However, the product category emerged as the primary filter in gender attribution. The study refines the C + G framework as a pedagogical tool to support more conscious, gender-sensitive design decisions.