For this project I needed to look into some kind of basis to map different shades of skin. I feel this is a necessary step when working with my contributors in the workshop. At the moment this will be the first step in the process: each contributor will look at the scale and state where they perceive their skin tone to align. I think it’s important to have a reference point to return to after collecting data from my contributors. This will make my findings more accessible to students when they later view the compiled resources.
The most widely used classification is the Fitzpatrick Skin Type scale (FST). Originally developed in 1975 to classify skin reactivity to ultraviolet A phototherapy (mainly in lighter skin) and only later expanded to include more skin types. The scale was never designed to serve as a truly comprehensive visual reference for global skin-tone diversity. Although this is still widely used, it disproportionately focuses on white skin tones, and is inconsistently used which in turn perpetuates skin colour bias (Tian, 2024).
Because of these limitations, I believe the Monk Skin Tone Scale (MST) offers a better alternative for my purposes. The MST uses a 10-tone system, giving a broader gradient of skin tones; light, medium, and darker than the six-part FST (Monk, E., Buolamwini, J. & Gebru, T. (2023). Using MST as a starting point for each contributor to self-assess their skin tone will allow me to organise and collate responses more effectively. This self-categorisation will inform how I group data in my findings. Having a broader and more inclusive skin-tone reference will likely be more representative of the diversity among contributors and useful when discussing how lighting interacts with different skin tones in later workshops.
References
Monk, E., Buolamwini, J. & Gebru, T. (2023) ‘The Monk Skin Tone Scale: A More Inclusive Measure for Evaluating Algorithmic Bias’, Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 22(8), pp. 861–864.
(General MST dermatology reference: https://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961625P8618X)\
Tian, S., 2024. Shades of Skin: Limitations of the Fitzpatrick Scale with CIELAB. NHSJS Reports. Available at: https://nhsjs.com/2024/shades-of-skin-limitations-of-the-fitzpatrick-scale-with-cielab/ [Accessed 23 January 2026].
Fitzpatrick Scale Photo – Serena T., Johnson J., Andersen C. A., et al. “Skin Pigmentation Impacts the Clinical Diagnosis of Wound Infection …” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2023): figure showing “Fitzpatrick Skin Phototype Classification”.
Monk Scale Photo – Mehta, H. & Sarkar, R., 2025. The Monk skin tone scale: A tool dermatology should not overlook. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 93(4), pp.e139–e141. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2025.05.1437