06 Apr 124. Writing a Book to Create Real Social Change

DEIB consultant and interior design expert Jessica Bantom was determined to write a book that would impact her industry in a positive way.

With “Design for Identity,” she has managed to write a book that can reach design students in classrooms and designers already working in firms.

This book will transform the way designers consider marginalized or underrepresented people in their work.

Jessica shares the hardest parts of writing her book and how she got over them and why she chose a less-obvious option to publish her book.

For more writing tips and inspiration, follow me on Instagram @candiceldavis.

Mentioned in This Episode

Design for Identity by Jessica Bantom

Jessica Bantom’s Website

Jessica Bantom’s Instagram

Jessica Bantom’s LinkedIn

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Episode Transcript

Candice 

Jessica. Welcome to the show. Thank you for joining me. 

Jessica

Thank you for having me. I’m glad to be here.

Candice 

Oh, it’s my pleasure. Tell everybody about Design for Identity and why you decided to write it.

Jessica 

Well, it was actually a long story that kind of led to it, but I’ll give the condensed version. So Design for Identity is basically my exploration of the intersection of my two career paths—one in consulting when I got into diversity, equity and inclusion in the last few years, and the other track in interior design, which I’ve been doing now for about 15 years. And the book really explores the importance of making space for a conversation about identity in the design process. So it doesn’t just become an afterthought, and it’s something that I think I’ve become more keenly aware of, since I became a DI professional, as a gap in interior design. And then I went back to my education, I looked back at my experiences over the past several years, in various spaces, whether that was in working with clients directly or being in other environments with other professionals, where I realized that we basically just skirt around the whole concept or conversation about cultural identity. And to me, it just felt like something that was very important that we needed to become more intentional about addressing.

Candice 

Oh, so this is fascinating to me, because, okay, we work in the arts, I’m in literature, you’re in design, and I think a lot of people look at the arts as a place where things are more equitable, where there is more acceptance and acknowledgement of differences. And it’s not the case in publishing. If you look at books that are being published, they’re still mostly white men who are getting deals to publish books. That’s just the reality of it. And I’m hearing you say it’s not necessarily the case in design either.

Jessica

Yeah, and that is interesting, because when I think about art, and I think about artistic expression. 

Candice

You do think about pouring something of yourself into what you’re doing. 

Jessica

But yeah, no, you know, even looking at the design process and the questions that we typically ask customers and the different points in the process where we usually interact with them. There is not an explicit place where we say, “what about your identity would you like to see celebrated in this space? This product? This piece of clothing, etc.” And I’m speaking of course, in generalizations, I know there are places where these conversations happen more intentionally than others, but generally, across the board, it’s not something that we’re taught and definitely not in our design education. So to me, that is, like, the biggest opportunity to start folding the concept in like this should be a standard part of the process. But yeah, just in general. What’s also another issue is that we as designers aren’t invited to share from our own lived experience and the design process and that kind of thing ties directly to what you’re talking about where artists get to pour themselves into what they do. There’s still not a space in most design environments, where designers can share from that personal lens and in a lot of instances, it is usually because there is a very homogenous group, you know, in these design environments, and where there are a few people who are part of underrepresented or marginalized groups, there’s usually apprehension, maybe just straight up fear about disclosing anything about their identity in that in that environment and in that space. But the book also gets to how we need to get past that because there’s a lot of valuable information and knowledge and perspectives that designers could tap into by even opening the conversation among the people in the room.

Candice 

So when you talk about underrepresented groups, I know a lot of people immediately go to ethnicity, right? But you cover way more than that in your work. And you cover way more than that in your book. What does that actually mean? Who are we including in underrepresented and marginalized groups?

Jessica

So I’m very glad you brought that up. Because a lot of times when people hear VDI they go right to race, ethnicity, and gender. But there are so many other dimensions of who we are. I think those are the easy go-tos because they’re pretty visible. And also because other ones may be a little tricky of an area to get into. But we are talking about sexual orientation, age, religion, ability, socioeconomic status. I mean, it could be body size. There are so many things about us that we don’t intend to, you know, that we don’t bring into the conversation and some of those things that are kind of hidden identifiers. It may take a lot for people to disclose those if they don’t have to. But we do need to create that psychological safety in our design environment so that people can disclose from those perspectives as well because they’re just as valuable when we’re talking about cultural identity.

Candice 

Yeah, your book feels really inclusive. I’ve already read it, you’re on her coat so I got the preview. You see. Loved it. And I will say even before I say what I was getting ready to ask, you were a dream coaching client and I mean, a dream client and here’s why. You took your process so seriously. Like you showed up and it’s not like you’ve just had nothing else to do right? You have an incredibly busy schedule, incredibly busy. But you took it so seriously. And I think I believe it’s because you saw the value of this book, like what do you want this book to do in the world when it’s released in April?

Jessica

Yeah, honestly the vision for what it will do was what helped me get past all of my stuff to get it done. I really hope that this book will open a dialogue across design industries. I know I mentioned my background is in interior design. But you know, looking at fashion design, product design, UI/UX design—the hope is that this will become an intentional part of our process and our normal day-to-day engagement among our colleagues and also with our customers. And it’s something that we just can’t ignore anymore. To ignore identity is to erase it is to do harm. It is to diminish people who have already been diminished, erased and harmed in so many other ways and aspects of our lives. But designers designed for everybody, so we can’t ignore that we can’t ignore the people who have been marginalized. We can’t ignore those identities that aren’t often brought into the conversation. And my hope once again, you know, I mentioned that I speak in generalizations. I know there are people who are doing this who are designing with identity in mind. There are firms that are, you know, leaning into this a little more than others. My hope is that the book will help create a dialogue across industries so that people can share it. “I tried this. This was a successful approach for us. I tried this, it failed miserably.” But that’s how we learn and that’s how we grow and that’s how you know a lot of anything around design is about us getting used to having conversations we just don’t have. And I’m really hoping that this book will help broaden that dialogue. And that was what kept me going because I have all the fears that everybody else has. Some of the fits and starts. But especially right now I feel like this message is just really timely and I’m concerned about people in organizations losing whatever momentum there is left from the summer of 2020. I just- we can’t afford to let this fall off the radar so that gave me a little kind of little, little fire under me to keep going

Candice 

So, but you’re already doing this work. Like you’re consulting on this, you’re speaking on this. So why did you feel like it was important to put it in book form?

Jessica

Because I didn’t see it anywhere. That was one of the things I did look into to see, you know, I think what most authors or, you know, aspiring authors would do is look to see what’s out there. I didn’t see anything else that was addressing this. And I thought a book was especially important because I knew I wanted to get all my ideas out in one thing or one place. I write a blog, I’ve written essays and posted them on medium and things like that. But I wanted to get all my thoughts in one place. And it also goes back to the concept I mentioned about weaving these concepts into design education. And I thought what better way to do that to reach students in the profession than through a book.

Candice 

That makes perfect sense. Okay, you mentioned that you do a lot of writing already and you are a very strong writer, which of course made my job a lot easier. So, I mean, why did you feel the need to or the desire to hire a book coach and work with someone on your boat?

Jessica

Because I knew I needed accountability. I knew I wanted somebody else who was familiar with this process on my team. I do a lot of work and I have done my interior design work independently, as you know, as a sole business owner in that regard. And I wanted to feel the support around me to venture off into something once again that was new, something once again that is not like the norm which most of my career has been. And I was so glad when we connected because on top of everything else, on top of the great value of having you to edit, is to kind of keep me on track. It was great to connect and to talk through the ideas instead of just going to the page and writing. Like to get that, you know, that human reaction to what you’re doing and why you’re creating, especially with someone who gives you a safe space to do that is really valuable. Like I don’t think I would have known- I wouldn’t have known unless I think at least mutual contact that put us in touch. Yeah. I didn’t know that book coaching was even an option but I told everyone who asked me about my process about you and about how that was helpful for me.

Candice 

Yeah, these days there’s a coach for everything. And I’m glad because I hire coaches all the time. Like right now I have a business coach. I’m sort of a life business balance coach and marketing coach. But one of the things you do really well besides just your very strong writing is tell great stories like so this book like I’m not in the design space, but I was fascinated by what I was reading one from the perspective of I did not understand how DEIB related to design at all, and now I have a much better understanding of that. But also in terms of some of the things that have happened in the world of design that maybe we don’t know about. Can you share one of your favorite stories from the book?

Jessica

Yes, there is one that I fell off and that was about a series of steps that the Spanish Postal Service issued a year after the murder of George Floyd and this was supposed to be about making a statement about racial equality. Boy, and what they did was to divide it they created a series of stairs that were different skin tones and they assigned monetary values to these stamps. But the lighter skin tones were the higher monetary value ones and then it got lower as the skin tones got darker. And I had read an article I had actually set up a Google alert about DTI and design just out of curiosity and it was funny because I caught a few of these stories around the same time in May of 2021. But it was amazing to me when I read that at first I was like, how did this ever even happen? Like how would this even make it out into the world? And you know, those stories kind of ignited my passion even more to really dive into this but it was really interesting to see also how it was handled. So the postal service itself I believe they declined to make any comment about it. Once there was that one approach, right. And then there was another group that had worked, had partnered with the Postal Service on the campaign in the first place. They were anti racist, and they said, I don’t know how this could happen. You know, this just points to the fact that we need to bring this expertise into our design process and bring this conversation into our design process about what is offensive, what is harmful and what honors identity. And you know, it was interesting too that series of steps went on sale on May 25. And it was taken down off the market on May 28. And that is how quick you know the backlash is, but that damage had already been done in that short period of time. So you know, just seeing that was one of the stories I just I was I mean, how do you make that mistake? It just seems so obvious and so elementary, but it was one of several that are in the book that I was like, wow, couldn’t make this stuff up.

Candice 

And one of the things you point out in the book is that one of the ways those mistakes get made, it’s not necessarily because no one notices, but it may not be a place where people feel comfortable speaking up and saying, “Hey, I think this might be a problem.” It may be a place where they don’t feel safe or where they have spoken up and they’ve just been smacked down and nothing has changed. So they’ve learned not to bother and so things just pass through.

Jessica

Exactly, exactly. Which is why I do emphasize the importance of creating this space for a mindset, environment, and behavior shift to happen so that individuals can work through their stuff. So that we can actually deal with these things on an individual basis so that then we can deal with it on a team basis, then we can deal with it on an organization basis, then on an industry basis. But yeah, I don’t doubt that somebody raised their hand or that somebody even if they didn’t, I’m sure there are a couple sides.

Candice 

I’m not gonna say it, you say it. I’m not- I think we’ve all been there though. If you’ve worked in corporate at all, even in the entrepreneur space, you’ve been in places where you think, “is it worth speaking up right now” because you know, there may be a price to pay when you speak up and depending on how much power you feel like you have right? What position you’re in . . . That can be scary.

Jessica

It can be very scary and it can feel like- it’s interesting because I have a lot of conversations with clients in just different contexts about DEIB. And there’s all this fear even if people haven’t seen it happen. There’s this fear, like if I say that, I’m going to lose my job. And the intern asked, “Has that happened before?” But something in our minds goes to that severe reaction like that. That’s going to be the, you know, the outcome of speaking up. And that could have I mean, that can be from conditioning and past experience in many different contexts that just shows up that way at work, but it is very real. It’s very real.

Candice 

But then it’s my job as a business owner to create a culture then in which people know I have to be proactive. I have one employee by the way, so I’m using myself as an example but you know what I mean? One employee plus me, so but it’s your job as a business owner to create a culture where people know you proactively say that it’s safe not just assume that people are going to feel comfortable speaking,

Jessica

Right. And you don’t just say it, you model it yourself. So even in the moments where you don’t know as a leader, you say, I don’t know, can we have a discussion about this? Or is there another way to say it without flat out saying? I don’t know if we have considered all perspectives? Or are there other perspectives anyone else would like to share that we should factor into this conversation? Because then that kind of just like you said, indicates like someone’s asking, it’s not just you volunteering your two cents. That changes the tone and you know, can bring down the people’s guard.

But then there’s also what do you do with that information? When people share it? Do you acknowledge it? Do you embrace it? Do you say okay, tell me more. So I can figure out the best way to use this information. Or do you say you know, you listen to people and then it’s like, okay, good to know, and they ignore it. And I mean, that’s, you’ve just, you know, you might as well have never asked the question in the first place. On top of that, now you’ve done harm because people don’t believe it. They won’t believe it when you ask the question again.

Candice 

Yeah. So you make it really clear in your book, though, how people who are in charge can start implementing these changes. You give them really specific steps, which I love. Your book is very organized. So if people kind of come into it, like really approaching it from a space of wanting to learn, you walk them step-by-step through a process to do that. What was the outlining process for you like?

Jessica

It was interesting because I think like a consultant, so I’m used to giving guidance. And then I also have the coaching and facilitation background. So I think all of that kind of played into my approach with the book. But then also going back to my initial goal for it and like being something to start a conversation. I did want to create discussion guides and to create moments for self-reflection and questions in the book. So that people could work through with themselves the more you know, ideally talk through it with other people because I think that’s where we can all navigate our different perspectives around these things and our emotions and our you know that like we’re talking about those moments of, I don’t know if I’m ready for this or am I going to say the wrong thing. You know, it opens up the door for some vulnerability and some humility, which is needed for these conversations.

Candice 

It absolutely is needed because it applies to all of us, right? I could sit here as a Black woman and say, Well, I’m Black, and I’m female, you know and all this but I don’t check all the identity boxes, right? There’s some with which I have no experience. And so I can’t make assumptions just because I’m in an underrepresented group as well, that I know what every other underrepresented group is experiencing because I don’t.

Jessica

No, exactly, exactly and lived experience. I will never take any credit away from that or you know, there is real value in lived experience, but we have to understand we all have lived experience. Some of ours just shows up in different ways. I’m sorry. We don’t all have lived experience. Lived experience is specifically the experience of people in marginalized groups. But we can be marginalized in different ways. That’s what I meant to say and how I should have framed that.

But it’s also interesting to get in conversations with white men. If there’s a whole group that’s having conversations about identity and culture. I’ll see some of them will just- they’ll just sit back. And I have to, you know, call them into the conversation. And when I do, some of them are like, Well, I feel like I’m the white guy in the room like what do I have to add to this conversation? And I tell them, this needs to be a dialogue which requires everybody. Yeah, and it is not on people from marginalized groups to educate you so you don’t get to, you know, to just sit back and listen or observe.

You have to lean in. You have to show people that you care about this that you’re you want to learn, and yes, you do have perspectives to add. We all have perspectives to add to the conversation, or even just questions. That creates the dialogue that opens the doors that shows engagement that shows that you care. So all of us need to do that to really move these conversations forward in a productive way.

Candice 

I’m super excited about Design for Identity because I think it’s going to make it easier for people. Yes, it’s written for people in design, but I’ll be honest, it could really be used in any industry. I don’t care what industry you work in, you could use the process that Jessica lays out in her book. You’re super organized. You’re a great storyteller. You’re a strong writer, what was the most challenging part of this process of writing your book for you?

Jessica

Some days just sitting down to do it. Some things were just so caught up in my head. I was like just get it out. Just get it out. And there was the chapter on the Design for Identity blueprint which literally is like the solution in the book. That was something where I literally had to sketch things out on the whiteboard, because I think I had the ideas but I hadn’t pulled it all together and I wanted to make sure that I conveyed it in a way that was going to resonate with people that was easy enough to kind of relate to so I think that was the most challenging just because that required the most kind of intense concentration. And also the thought about how this is really going to be perceived, and I wanted it to be simple. The book is not long. I’m a concise communicator. And I wanted it to get the point across and not lose people’s attention. So I think all of that was kind of spinning in my head while I was trying to get everything out.

Candice 

So you went to the whiteboard and just really honed your process there on the whiteboard so that then you could write about it in the book. I love that. That’s such a great idea. What has the publishing process been like for you?

Jessica

Actually, you know, the most challenging part for me was figuring out which path to choose for publishing. Because once again, as a new author I was not familiar with any of this beyond like a couple things I had learned in workshops. So I think it was more like that moment of what is the right path for me and trying to choose. So I asked a lot of authors what their experiences had been with traditional publishers. I knew a few people who had self-published and I was just trying to figure out like, well, what’s right for me? Yeah. And I landed on hybrid publishing. So I ruled out traditional publishing, one because I want the copyright to my material, two I mean, there were things about the royalties and all that too, but it was also the idea of me having to pitch my idea or pay somebody to pitch my idea to publishers. I don’t have time this needs to get out, it needs to get out. So there are things about that process that I just knew it wasn’t going to be the right path for me and also the fact that I was exploring something that was new.

So I talked, for example, to a traditional publisher who published the books and they were like, wow, this is really interesting, but we don’t do design. And then there were very few- I had a hard time finding publishers that have design books, but when I looked at what they created, it was mostly literally like design like, oh, a book of images of houses, images of graphic design, you know, things like that. So that was another thing where I was like, I can’t keep waiting to try to figure out who’s going to bite on this and there was a fact that it was a DEI book written by me as a Black woman that I didn’t want to be written out of, I didn’t want my voice to be written out of so it’s more, you know, digestible for the public or have more appealed or was more marketable. I wanted it to be what I said. Definitely. So I’m certainly self-publishing, but then I also recognize I have a full-time job and many other things on my plate. I don’t have it in me to learn the publishing process to do this the way I want it to be done in an expeditious way with me, with a lot of trial and error, which can be expensive.

So I had a vision. I knew my final product had to appeal visually to designers. I wanted it to look like something I would be proud of, like, as a designer, but also as an author, as a professional as someone this many decades [of experience]. So I figured that, you know, I found a hybrid publisher through another contact of mine who had published his books through them and had a conversation that it was a big investment. It was a big investment.

Candice 

I mean what you’re paying for the quality that you’re receiving in terms of all of the services they provide.

Jessica

Exactly. And them managing aspects of things that I just knew I didn’t have time or the expertise to figure out and navigate so it’s been the best route for me.

Candice 

But it is a decision people have to make, right, if you’re publishing a book. Usually most people can either rule in or rule out traditional really quickly. They either want to go through that process for whatever reason, or they don’t. But then you do have to choose between self-publishing, which means you’re in charge of everything. And hybrid publishing where you give up a little bit of control, but you get and you pay more money, but, but you get a lot more hands-on services from them. So if that’s the best path for you, that’s the best path for you.

Now, we’re getting very close to your launch date this we’re recording this at the beginning of March. Your launch date is April 4, is that your launch date? And it’s right down the road. I know it’s a lot of work to plan a launch. Tell us about your launch and how you plan to keep getting Design for Identity out to the world.

Jessica

Yes, so that was another thing that factored into my decision to go with a hybrid publisher was they don’t do marketing for me, but they gave me insights around marketing strategy, which was very, very helpful. But then once again, I said, I have some background in marketing, but it’s still not my area of expertise. I’m going to look into somebody else saying I’m doing this for me. So once again, I talked to some other authors about what they did about marketing and like really preparing for an effective launch. Because I know a lot of people, they were perfectly fine, like I intentionally went with Amazon. It’s out there in the world. It is what it is.

Some people maybe didn’t intend for, like, a big bang around launch. That was perfectly fine. I, on the other hand, really want people to see this. Once again, not just for selfish reasons, but because I really want the message out there. So I chose to hire a publicist who I’ve been working with since January to strategize and look at getting some media exposure helping me schedule an actual launch event, which I’m looking forward to, April 11. So you know, to me like that was important to have somebody who has the expertise, who has the context, who has the time.to do this the right way.

Once again, you know, I mentioned I had talked to a lot of different authors about their experience. And their recommendations with this. And I learned the information I gathered from all of that was that I needed to find a publicist who knows book launches. Like not just a publicist who does PR generally. And for me, it was interesting because I also got pointed to somebody who was a couple of resources who focus on design. That was like, I don’t know that that’s necessarily it either. Now, so to me, it was really about finding someone who knows how to get a book out in the world like there. My book is one in a billion. I need all the help I can get making sure like getting through the noise and getting it in front of people. So that felt like the best route for me to go.

Candice 

But I love that because everybody’s book is one in a billion, right? There are 1000s of books published literally every day and while I love that we have hybrid publishing now and independent and self-publishing now because no one needs permission to publish their book, it also means that there are lots of books published every day. And you’ve already taken the steps to raise your book above the crowd because you’ve invested so deeply in putting your knowledge and your wisdom and your expertise in that book. And also making sure that every part of it represents you well so the cover design is amazing. I love the cover of your book, it came out great which it better be because you’re a designer, right? So we expect no less from you, and it is great. And I’m sure the interior layout will be just as beautiful.

And you put, I mean, you’ve gotten it well edited everything you can do to make your book stand next to a book that came from one of the big five publishers. I think they’re down at five now and they keep merging. So you could literally put your book on the bookshelf next to any one of those and it is not going to stand out as an independently published book is going to blend right in. Not in a bad way, not in getting lost because once you see the cover, you’re never going to forget it. It’s not going to blend in in that way. But it will fit right along with those books that have come from a quote unquote professional publisher. Because you did it professionally from beginning to end.

Jessica

Yeah, and that was my goal as I sat there writing some of it in Barnes and Noble looking around me. Like my book needs to look like it belongs here can’t be like which of these things is not like the other you know. It can’t. It can’t. So I’m very pleased now to that, you know, to that point I hadn’t given as much thought as was required around what the interior layout should look like. Like down to things like what fonts I preferred and what made sense. That’s from the accessibility and development and design side of me, I’m also thinking about how we can make this most accessible? How do we make sure this is not just pretty but it’s actually legible. Think about things like color to contrast all of that. Yeah.

But I’m glad that I had the latitude to figure all those things out with the guidance from the resources that my hybrid publisher had so we could collaborate and make sure that it came out in a very professional way and in a way that you know, I also didn’t want to come to them with ideas and they just kind of regurgitate it and make it a little prettier. They, you know, they took it and I gave them inspiration images.

I had some books that I had read in the past that I was like please take a look at this because I love the way they did call out here the way they did you know certain features in you know throughout the book. Or even on the cover. So it was nice to be able to have those professionals who could be like, Okay, I’m absorbing all this. I’m processing this and I’m still giving you something that’s unique. And the end product is something I love, but I never could have envisioned it and that makes me excited.

Candice  

That is so exciting. Like I’m so excited to hold this book. That’s like my favorite part of the process. You’re like I love coaching every bit of it but getting the book in my hand is like oh my god child has arrived. has arrived and I’m excited about it. So I am just super excited for your launch and everything you have coming up. I know that you’re gonna go well beyond the launch in terms of promoting this book, you’re not going to just launch it and go away because you’re so invested in the message. So are you speaking what kinds of things are you doing beyond the launch to get Design for Identity out to the world?

Jessica

Yes, I’m actually excited. So I’ve been approached by a couple of design firms who are looking at it for like a book club, like a firm wide book club. Wow, I love that idea. So I would you know I could come in and guide conversations around the book. I’ve been contacted through a couple of university programs about coming to speak for them. Which is amazing too. I love that. That’s one of the audiences I really want to get in front of. And not just the students but the faculty too because the students can’t learn about if the faculty is uncomfortable talking about so that’s another you know, area that I’m really hoping will grow so that conversation can really kind of take root in and I mean, there’s a lot of learning to be done in this and I think if educators especially look at this as like an adventure I can take with the students like we can learn together but also the younger generations are looking for any type of organization, whether it’s a university or business to step up around Dei. So this is a great way to show that there was a real commitment there.

Candice 

I love that you’re providing a resource that is much needed in this book. So tell everybody where they can find out more about you and more about Design for Identity.

Jessica

Sure, sure. So everybody can go to JessicaBantom.com to pre-order the book to get information about it to contact me if you’re interested in collaborating or you’re looking for a speaker. And I’m also very very engaged on LinkedIn and Instagram so they’re definitely good platforms to hit me.

Candice 

Awesome and you’re all up Jessica information will be in the podcast description and also in the show notes on my website, CandiceLdavis.com/podcast. Jessica, thank you so much for joining me. This is super fun.

Jessica

Thank you, Candice. This has been a great experience here talking to you.

Candice 

I’m glad you made it. So fantastic. Thank you. That’s all for this week’s episode, my friends. Thanks for listening to nothing but the words. I’m your book coach Candice l Davis. And I’ll see you next time.

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