The feminine / masculine stereotype is everywhere. How can you make your designs more gender-neutral? Find a balance between masculine and feminine. Here are the colors, fonts, layouts, photos, and icons you need to use to perfectly achieve a gender-neutral design. Learn more here: http://blog.visme.co/feminine-design-masculine-design/

1. The feminine / masculine design stereotype is everywhere.
Marketing campaigns use specific colors and layouts to appeal to
men or women, depending on their target audience. On the other
hand, products with a broader audience strive for gender-neutral
design. Here are examples of how they compare to each other.
Gender color
stereotypes start
to affect our
perceptions at a
young age.
Children’s toys and
clothing are designed in
blue, green, red for boys
and in pink, fuchsia and
purple for girls.
As adults, blue is
the favorite color of
both genders, while
brown and orange are
the least favorite.
Men don’t like purple, while most
women do. Men prefer bright
colors and shades. Women
prefer light colors and tints.
Gender-neutral colors
include monochromatic
grays, light browns, black,
white, yellows and greens.
Color
Typography
The differences between feminine and
masculine fonts are quite easy to notice.
FEMININE FONTS
tend to be smooth,
curved, flowing and
rounded.
MASCULINE FONTS
tend to have straight
lines, strong serifs,
geometric spacing
and thick strokes.
HELVETICA
is the gender-neutral font of
excellence due to its simple
style and lack of flourish.
The union between
Atlanta Chicago
Denver Boston
PHOENIX Jackson
Austin Albany
HELVETICA
When pairing fonts with color schemes,
there needs to be a balance. Words
on their own have a masculine or
feminine meaning. Stereotypically, the
word “ballerina” is feminine and the
term “power drill” is masculine. If we
were to write these words with a font
or color that doesn’t match its
meaning, the final result would be
disconcerting.
Ballerina Power drill
Layouts
A layout can be part of a website, an infographic or
printed marketing materials. A balanced layout has a mix
of colors, typography and imagery.
FEMININE WEBSITES
use colors, layouts, images and fonts that appeal to women.
MASCULINE WEBSITES
use dark colors, geometric shapes, rigid layouts and blocky fonts.
Typography and Color
Photography and Imagery
Use photography
to personify your
customer. Create
scenes of what
you envision your
clients doing.
Photos of men
playing soccer
will appeal to
men who enjoy
the activity.
GENDER-NEUTRAL WEBSITES
use white, black, greys and neutral fonts and shapes.
Photos of women
having coffee
together will
appeal to women
who like getting
together with
friends.
Gender-neutral
images include both
men and women or
use color to balance
the overall message.
Product photography can be heavily stereotyped.
Dove is very feminine and Axe is heavily masculine.
Icons
MASCULINE ICONS
Straight, sharp edges
NEUTRAL ICONS
Minimalist, outline icons
Conclusion
It is important to know your audience first in
order to decide whether your designs should
follow a stereotype or be gender-neutral.
Made With Visme
Source:
http://blog.visme.co/masculine-feminine-neutral-design
FEMININE ICONS
Smooth, curved lines
GENDER NEUTRAL FONTS
include "classic" fonts that
are considered readable
and safe for web use.
Roboto