Microsoft Inclusion Journey

An engagement platform for progress

Designit was asked to create a unique learning and engagement experience for Microsoft. This project wasn’t directly related to Microsoft’s corporate DEI work or positioning. It was to be built as a platform for learning and sharing on the topics of diversity and inclusion at work and in society at large.

Our first phase was a proof-of-concept endeavor, enabling the Microsoft DEI team to secure buy-in and funding from internal leadership. We developed a pitch that wove a narrative around our concept, “Work in Progress,” through strategy, verbal expression, and a unique new visual language for the company. Our second phase was to build the experience and produce original content to populate it.

"Work in Progress" manifesto

We can't just do more. We can't just do better. We must do the work. We intend to dismantle established systems and build something different. Progress on this scale takes more than an initiative.

It takes ALL OF US doing the actual work. Progress is, and will always be, a work in progress. It will never be perfect. It will never be polished. It will be very hard.

And it will require us to take a hard look at ourselves, our decisions, our perceptions, our attitudes, and our impact on the world around us.

Working toward progress means acknowledging the past and present and holding ourselves and each other accountable for the future. As individuals, organisations, and a culture, we are all works in progress. We must embrace this imperfection and pivot our focus toward action.

Learn new ways. Unlearn old limitations. Test. Implement what works and repair or reinvent what doesn't. Because the reality is, helping everyone do more means dedicating ourselves to do the work to get better.

Uncompromising action for change means our work is never done.

Our storytelling construct was so resonant that it was also used for the very first Microsoft Include event, which coincided with the release of the website. This project earned resounding praise from all of Microsoft's leadership.