Humane

What Is Humane?

Humane is a free educational resource that provides principles and frameworks for creating ethically responsible digital products. Rather than a traditional design tool with software features, Humane functions as a guidance system that helps designers, developers, and product teams understand and apply ethical design practices throughout their workflow. It addresses the gap between conventional design approaches and human-centered, dignity-focused design by offering actionable heuristics and philosophical foundations for responsible product development.

What Humane Does

• Provides core axioms and heuristics for designing systems that prioritize user dignity and well-being
• Offers ethical lenses to evaluate digital products across dimensions like wellbeing, accountability, and inclusion
• Supplies principles for avoiding inhumane design patterns that exploit user attention, emotions, or autonomy
• Guides designers in building transparency, fairness, and user consent into product decision-making
• Establishes frameworks for addressing vulnerable user populations and mitigating algorithmic bias
• Documents heuristics for reconciliation and respectful system design, including acknowledgment, safety, and responsiveness

How Humane Can Be Used

• Evaluate existing product designs against ethical standards before launch or redesign
• Set design requirements and principles for new features or products grounded in human dignity
• Train design teams on ethical frameworks and help establish shared values for responsible design practice
• Audit business models, algorithms, and user experience patterns to identify potential harms
• Develop accountability mechanisms and transparency practices for automated decision-making in digital systems
• Create organizational policies and culture that align product development with ethical outcomes

Who Is Humane For?

Humane serves designers, UX/UI professionals, product managers, and engineers who want to embed ethical considerations into their design process. It is particularly valuable for teams building digital products that collect user data, use algorithms, or risk creating habit-forming experiences. Organizations committed to ethical design culture, startups evaluating their business models, and enterprises seeking to rebuild user trust will find Humane's frameworks applicable. Whether working on consumer applications, organizational software, or institutional systems, teams can use Humane to align their design decisions with principles of transparency, fairness, and user well-being. Visit Humane