Made For Us: Championing inclusive innovation

Made For Us is a weekly podcast for those curious about how to design for inclusivity. The show won the bronze award for Most Inspirational Podcast at the 2024 Signal Awards and is now on its second season. We spoke to producer and host Tosin Sulaiman to find out more…

What inspired you to start Made For Us, and what message do you hope to share with your audience?

Made For Us explores design and innovation from the perspective of people who may not fit the mould of the “average” consumer. The premise is that we all experience products differently depending on our gender, age, ability, race, whether we’re left or right-handed, etc. and I wanted to shine a light on the entrepreneurs and designers who are intentionally creating products that can be used by a wider spectrum of people.

The initial inspiration was my own personal experience of encountering products that weren’t designed with people like me in mind (for example, finding “nude” tights used to be a challenge if you’re darker skinned like me). But as I researched the topic, I realised that I wasn’t alone and this feeling of exclusion is a common one.

Ultimately, I wanted the podcast to focus on people solving the problem and on the impact they’d had on users. I also wanted to create something that would leave my audience feeling hopeful. It’s easy to feel powerless when we read about big problems in the world that have been with us for a long time. But this is an area where there’s tangible progress and I wanted to celebrate that, while acknowledging the challenges that remain.

How do you choose your guests, and what qualities make someone a great fit for your podcast?

The guests on Made For Us are really diverse. I’d say one thing that connects them is that they’re often challenging the status quo in their industry, and sometimes they’re outsiders. For example, I interviewed a makeup artist who created a line of accessible makeup tools after a Parkinson’s diagnosis, a Canadian entrepreneur who designed a bicycle helmet for Sikh kids who wear the patka and a male plus size model. I’ve also interviewed a few authors. As well as having an impact in their domain, I look for people who are great communicators and have a clear and unique point of view.

What has been the most impactful or surprising conversation you’ve had on the show so far?

This is really tough as I’ve enjoyed all my conversations and each one has left me with a new insight or a story that’s stayed with me. If I had to choose one from Season 2, it would be the first episode with the TV presenter Lucy Edwards who talks about how she coped with losing her sight at the age of 17 and how she’s now helping brands design more accessible products, Barbie dolls being one example.

How has hosting this podcast changed your perspective on the topics you discuss?

It’s made me realise that inclusive design is a huge topic. There’s so much to learn and so many angles to explore. Obviously, this is a good thing as it means I won’t run out of ideas for the podcast anytime soon!

What challenges have you faced in growing Made For Us, and how have you overcome them?

Building an audience is hard and takes time, especially with a topic that many people consider niche. As someone once said to me, design is already a niche topic even without the inclusivity angle! But what I try to do is make the subject relatable and I think once people listen to an episode or two they realise that the themes are actually universal.

I was lucky to have won the Bronze medal at the 2024 Signal Awards and that has helped with visibility. Made For Us was also shortlisted for the International Women’s Podcast Awards so it was a really exciting first year for the podcast and I now need to build on that momentum.

Are there any future topics or guests you’re especially excited about?

One of the major themes this season is AI. Given the podcast’s focus, I wanted to explore how well-designed AI can really improve lives, but also look at the potential harm and bias that can arise when diverse needs aren’t considered. So we’ll be tackling a lot of big questions, but always with real-life stories at the forefront.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own podcast and build a meaningful community?

The first thing is to acknowledge that growth will take time and only do it if you’re comfortable with not seeing an immediate payoff. I wrote a LinkedIn post recently about some research from PodMatch looking at what it takes to be in the top 5% of indie podcasters. Apparently, you need to stick with it for about two years and release 100 episodes. But most podcasters quit much earlier. With that knowledge, hopefully you won’t be one of them!

The second piece of advice is don’t just launch and see what happens. Think about your marketing plan from the beginning. I attended a workshop last year by Golda Arthur, host of Overlooked, who said it best: “You’re not competing with another podcast for attention. You’re competing with TikTok. Have a marketing plan for how you’re going to take eyeballs away from TikTok.”

Finally, it would be amazing if every podcaster starting out thought about making their podcast accessible from the start. That means, for example, creating transcripts for each episode and including alt text and captions on social posts. It’s great to see a lot of podcasters already doing this and it really is worth the extra effort to make sure many more people can enjoy your content.

If  you want to find out more about Made For Us you can take a look at the Instagram and LinkedIn accounts for the podcast and also sign up to the newsletter. Tosin Sulaiman can be found on LinkedIn.

Listen to Made For Us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcast apps >>