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In theories and metrics of product innovation, gender is invisible or ignored, and innovative products are presumed to be gender-neutral or agnostic. Yet, many ostensibly-innovative consumer products overlook the needs of women and gender non-conforming individuals, suggesting an implicit masculine framing. This research introduces a mixed-methods approach for analyzing gender scripts in product features and marketing, applied to a case study of the Apple Watch (2015–2024). Findings reveal a sustained reinforcement of gender norms: masculine-coded language and industrial design dominate how innovation is presented, even as objective technical improvements decline. In contrast, feminine-coded features, especially relational or user-centered ones, receive less emphasis in innovation framing. This work demonstrates how masculine value systems shape perceptions and theories of innovation and offers opportunities for future research on gender and design. 

This study investigates the process of hazard identification in complex manufacturing environments during the design phase, emphasizing the significance of the design process in developing designs that effectively mitigate hazards in contexts with numerous variables, such as a variety of machines, sensors, actuators, and agents. Through a mixed-methods approach, the objective of this work is to understand how the evolution of design outcomes across various stages might influence a designer’s ability to recognize both standard and novel hazards. To achieve this understanding, an experimental design task was conducted with six designers from a national lab specializing in manufacturing technologies. This approach combined qualitative and quantitative data analysis from a one-hour virtual session with participants. Findings suggest that the complexity of identifying hazards in a high-dimensional design space is challenging within a limited time frame and that the identification of hazards is significantly influenced by the stage of the design task and the initial design decisions, indicating the need for extended time and strategic initial planning in the design process to enhance hazard identification.