REPLAY: Reflections on creating the headscarf emoji, with Rayouf Alhumedhi
This week, we’re rewinding back to one of our most popular episodes from Season 1, with Rayouf Alhumedhi, creator of the headscarf emoji. (The episode was also shortlisted for last year's International Women’s Podcast Awards in the ‘Moment of Insight from a Role Model’ category.)
Rayouf launched the Hijab Emoji Project at the age of 16 to push for digital representation for Muslim women around the world. She was named one of Time magazine’s most influential teens and also featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.
Rayouf has a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She currently works as an investor at Bessemer Venture Partners.
In this episode, Rayouf shares:
Her motivation for creating the headscarf emojiWhat it takes to design a brand new emoji and get it approvedThe praise and backlash she received during her campaignHow Gen Z is pushing inclusive design to the forefrontKnow someone who’d be inspired by this? Why not share it with them - and help even more people discover this show by leaving a 5-star rating or review wherever you listen!
You might also like:
The emoji puzzle: how to fit everyone in
---
Learn more about Rayouf Alhumedhi: https://www.rayouf.com/
Follow Rayouf on Instagram
---
Connect with Made for Us
Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/Social media: LinkedIn and InstagramNewsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/
Made For Us
Made For Us is an award-winning podcast for anyone who’s curious about how to design for inclusivity. An Apple Podcasts Editors' Choice, Made For Us entered Apple's top 10 Design chart this year, reaching #2 in Canada and #3 in the U.S. and Australia.
Join us each week for conversations with founders, designers, product inclusion leaders and other creative minds who are challenging the status quo of how everyday products are designed. Each episode will bring you insights from people who've spent years thinking, perhaps even obsessing, about how to develop products or build companies that are inclusive from the start.
AWARDS
2025 International Women's Podcast Awards:
Runner-up: Moment of Absolute Honesty
Finalist: Moment of Behind-the-Scenes Briliance
2024 Signal Awards:
Bronze winner: Most Inspirational Podcast
2024 International Women's Podcast Awards:
Finalist: Moment of Insight from a Role Model & Moment of Visionary Leadership
- No. of episodes: 44
- Latest episode: 2025-06-19
- Arts Business Design Entrepreneurship
Where can you listen?
