Meet the Clients: 10 Questions with Project Inkblot, A Consultancy that Helps Businesses Uncover Cultural Blindspots when Designing Products, Services, & Marketing Campaigns for Diverse Consumers

In today’s modern times, businesses that fail to consider how their products, services, and marketing affect consumers from diverse communities are exposing themselves to dire reputational and financial vulnerability.

Case in point: last week, fashion empire Gucci made international headlines with the release of a new winter clothing item - but for all the wrong reasons. As part of what seems to be an increasingly frequent blunder by many big brands, the item Gucci released had blatant cultural insensitivities against a diverse community, which sparked international public outcry and calls for boycotts of the company.

Gucci did apologize after the fact, but what was the blindspot in Gucci’s business marketing or product management process that lead to that mistake? How could Gucci have prevented this from happening in the first place?

We sat down for 10 questions with Jahan Mantin, Co-Founder of Project Inkblot to learn how Project Inkblot is helping companies uncover blindspots like these to be more inclusive in their design of products, services, and marketing campaigns for diverse consumers. Project Inkblot is currently incubated by The New Museum “New Inc” Incubator in NYC, and their clients include Rent the Runway, SS+K , WE NYC and many more well known brands.

1.First the fun stuff: where are you from originally?

I’m proud to be a Native New Yorker! I’m originally from the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

2. What music has been in rotation for you lately?
Currently been listening to Khruangbin - it’s kinda soul/pop/psychedelic vibes. Good chill background music to work and cook to! 

3. Favorite Netflix series to binge?

Currently binging: True Detective 

4. And now on to business- In your own words, What IS Project Inkblot?

We’re a consultancy that helps businesses identify and address blind spots around cultural and racial biases before they are embedded into end products, end services, marketing campaigns, or their own company culture. We do this by providing customized proprietary trainings to businesses to help them learn how to encompass diversity, equity and inclusion into everything they do - from their internal team and employee communications, to their external campaigns, products, and services for customers.

5. What inspired you and your Cofounder, Boyuan Gao, to create Project Inkblot?

The simple answer: there was a big, gaping need. Boyuan and I originally began Project Inkblot as a consultancy for business campaigns and events geared towards increasing diversity, but we noticed a huge irony - there was often a significant lack of women and people of color as leaders and decision makers behind the design and execution of many these campaigns and events being created to engage women and people of color.

We also noticed that a lot of businesses were missing out on capturing big revenue opportunities from diverse customers by failing to embed proper diversity engagement in the design process and marketing of their goods and services.

Project Inkblot CoFounders Jahan Mantin & Boyuan Gao outside of the New Museum New Inc Incubator, that they are cohort members of.

6. What specific kinds of services can Project Inkblot help businesses with, and what do you guys recommend as a basic starter-service for a business interested in exploring engaging you?

Our proprietary “Design for Diversity”™ half-day Intro training for businesses is the perfect starter service. The training can just be for the business leadership team, or it can also include staff and employees. Our half-day training intro gives businesses a foundation to understand the consequences and missed opportunities of failing to design for diversity - both for their employees, and for their customers. The training includes our case studies around past diversity snafus by big corporations such as Heinekin and Google, and has participants discover their own blind spots and start thinking about equitable processes and systems they can start embedding into their strategy using our Design for Diversity™ framework. We also help train businesses to understand that designing products and services for diversity is really a golden opportunity to rapidly increasing revenues with diverse customers, and skyrocket employee engagement.

7. What's been the most interesting thing you've discovered in your line of work about a need for businesses to design products and services for diverse users

When people hear that we work in diversity, equity and inclusion, they often assume we lead implicit bias trainings against diversity. Implicit bias trainings can be useful but they often leave folks with a feeling of “ok - so, now what?” There are many businesses that want to “check the box” of having an implicit bias training, but that alone is not going to make real change. Creating and encouraging diversity in a business culture or for business customers should be a lifelong process for business owners, which is exactly what we train businesses owners to do.

8. I remember a charming story you guys once shared with me about why you call it an "inkblot." Care to share with our readers why you did?

The Inkblot is a good metaphor for diversity. Every person has a different perspective or lens that they see through. Companies run into challenges when all of the viewpoints start to mirror one another, and there ceases to be any new idea or solutions. The Inkblot is our reminder of the potential of designing for diversity.

9. How did you and Boyuan originally meet as partners? What are ways that you guys compliment each other in your work for your clients

We originally met eight years ago as editors for a culture magazine, and we bonded as friends over our shared love of culture, and our shared belief in equity for marginalized groups of people. We’ve been working together for so long that we’ve gotten really good at playing off one another. We often joke that we can read each other’s minds - ha! It really does feel like that though. Boyuan is a very direct communicator, she’s not afraid to ask the hard questions and she’s very aspirational in her speaking with clients. She’s able to paint the big picture for them. I’m more of a storyteller and able to fill in the gaps and drill it down to the human level. It’s a great balance.

10. Last but not least: what are the top 3 tips you'd give to a new budding entrepreneur to start and grow a sustainable new business

First: you can’t do it alone so don’t even try. Find a mentor, speak to people who have already done it or who might be further along than you.

Second: Handle accounting and set-up a separate account for your tax money. I know that’s boring advice but it’s critical!

Third: you ain’t never gonna “get there” so just be with and enjoy the process as much as you can! We know, easier said than done. We’re still working on it but it makes the process much more fun to laugh at yourself and appreciate the adventure you’re on along the way.


To learn more about Project Inkblot & their services, visit ProjectInkblot.com and find them at @projectinkblot on IG