By designing for a user with a physical or cultural mismatch to an object, we can create something new that benefits not only the original user, but all users. By taking the electric guitar- an object that has a complex historical relationship with gender- and redesigning it using the perspectives of women as a guide, a new instrument can be made that benefits all users, not just women.

This thesis is centered around the field of Human-Centered Design, and features a five-step design process: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test. By iterating through this process, The design can be improved upon time and time again.

The first step is to empathize with the chosen user group. By looking at the design of electric guitars through the lens of gender inequality, one quickly discovers that the gender-based issues that exist in the guitar industry are symptoms of a greater problem: We live in a world designed by men, for men. This thesis shows that by understanding the underlying causes of gender-based issues, social impact can be made by creating products and services that benefit not only women, but the world as a whole.

Using the information gathered from empathize, this thesis defines a design challenge: Design and build an electric guitar that maximizes accessibility for female guitarists. This design challenge sparks primary research, in which women are treated as collaborators in the design process through interviews that determine the design of the guitar. Using these interviews, a prototype design is built, tested, critiqued, redesigned, and then manufactured as a fully functional instrument.