Zendesk Diversity and Inclusion

The brief

Create a webpage for Zendesk’s Diversity and Inclusion team. Make it look awesome and don’t offend anyone while representing us honestly. Go.

Defining the mood

Ask most employees why they stay at Zendesk and they’ll tell you it’s because of the people. By now, most companies have adopted the “We don’t hire assholes” mentality, but Zendesk goes beyond that. FYI - they haven’t paid me to write this, just my personal opinion that company culture can go a long way. That plus free Cheez-its, a CEO with a sense of humor and a director of Diversity who not only rocks, but stands for something.

What does all of that boil down to? Creating a page with people as the showcase. We don’t need to include illustration, metaphors or anything cheeky. Our statistics on Diversity and Inclusion aren’t necessarily beautiful or something we want to show off, so how do we do this in a way that’s real?

Well let’s start off with a color palette. If our colors feel humble, the rest will follow suit. That’s how it works right? We incorporated Zendesk primary colors to tie in brand recognition. With the addition of secondary colors that feel more muted and natural. Ok that’s done. Now what?

Actually talk to people

What is working at Zendesk like for a female? For someone without a bachelor’s degree? An intern? An intern of color? Someone below C-staff? The Diversity and Inclusion team, along with myself and Marta, our wonderful photographer, spent a day interviewing some of these people. Getting to know their stories and how each person found themselves in the heart of the Tenderloin from wherever they’d begun their journey. Mexico, London, India, New Jersey… and even Burlingame.

The Result

Was pretty cool. Though the challenge of creating a page that thoughtfully conveyed the personalities of our employees while showcasing real and somewhat depressing statistics was upon us all. The process and outcome was extremely rewarding. This page is living and breathing and something we hope to update from a design and data standpoint as we continue to grow.

Check it out here.