Maurice Woods: Changing the world through design

Can you design for a community with whom you have no connection to? “Yes,” says Microsoft Principal Designer Maurice Woods. “But the connection to that culture and the ability to feel the nuances of that culture, they can’t.” Well, what are those nuances and why won’t non-Black designers ever understand them? Does it even matter?

Almost seven years ago, Woods started working at Microsoft’s newly acquired company, MileIQ, a consumer product app that tracks your business and personal mileage. He would lead design for the minimal viable product version of the Microsoft Family Safety mobile app, and he would orchestrate multiple Educational UI and UX projects.