Chapter 3: Ethical Design (original) (raw)

Ethical design: a foundation for visual communication

2016

The central original contribution to knowledge proposed by this thesis is the setting forth of a conceptualisation of ethical theory specifically in relation to design, with a focus on visual communication design. Building on earlier work by design theorist Clive Dilnot in the area of design ethics and on philosopher Giorgio Agamben's formulation of the philosophical concept of potentiality, a way of thinking about the relationship between design and ethics is proposed which concludes that design is in fact always inherently ethical. However, this conception of ethical design purposefully leaves questions of the qualification of good and bad unresolved, stating only that the ethical is the prerequisite condition in which both good and bad become possibilities. Design's significantly unethical capability to suppress and anaesthetise individuals' ethical experience is highlighted through a proposal of a process of an/aesth/ethics. Observation of the relationship between design and ethics in the real world through a series of interviews demonstrates something of the complexity of design's relationship with ethics and the diverse range of positions, beliefs, attitudes and paradoxes abounding within the design profession when it comes to addressing the question of "good" design practice. Six "sites" of ethics within contemporary design discourse are introduced and discussed. The ethicality of design practices in relation to these sites are then analysed through the lens of the proposed ethical framework: identifying strengths, weaknesses and potentials within these observed strategies. The way of thinking about ethical design proposed here demonstrates potential in contributing to designers' ability to critically consider the ethicality of their own practices. From this foundation they may be better equipped to begin addressing the question of the qualification of the "goodness" of design. In conclusion, proposals are made for how this framework could be practically developed and used to support and encourage ethical design in the real world.

Wicked World of Ethics in Graphic Design

Ethos of graphic design has been misunderstood as a link between consumers and suppliers for too many years. Over the last century graphic designers have worked to promote products and services they didn’t believe in or use themselves. In some cases, designers have helped to contribute to excessive consumption and prodigious waste through their use of catchy phrases and sayings. Designers have begun to rethink the content in which they are designing with in order to decide if this follows their personal and professional ethical standards. With the talent to combine ideas, problem solving skills, and a strong need to communicate; designers have the ability to use these talents to encourage a better understanding of the cultural and social needs around the world. Rather than using their problem solving skills to sell a product, graphic designers use these skills now more than ever to make a positive impact on society whether locally or globally.

Editorial: Visual methods and ethics: Stories from the field

2015

This special issue on ethical issues in visual research arose from our collective observation that there is an urgent need for researchers to share and reflect upon stories about the ethical challenges they are facing in their research, including how they have navigated the formal procedural ethics review process and how they have identified and responded to ethical challenges in their research practice. Our approach in this special issue has been to call for tales from the field that raise new questions and highlight concerns within the context of real and ongoing research rather than attempt to derive solutions to ethical problems in an abstract or decontextualized way. The overall collection is therefore one that highlights the importance of good descriptive self-reflexive accounts of ethical and methodological issues, especially in terms of what is useful for other visual researchers and also for members of research ethics boards or committees (REB/REC).

A Question of Ethics in Graphic Design

Design Amid

Graphic design is in a state of crisis of ethics as designers are behaving within the limits of the law but with a clear lack of ethics. Being in a field that communicates to people descending from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, it is critical for designers to set the rules of ethics; the question that will rise: who determines the rules of ethical graphic design? And how can these rules be applied without imposing designers beliefs on the other in a multicultural society where the common values will be created from the contribution of all religious and multicultural ideological beliefs to be received by the same diverse cultural backgrounds? This article will discuss the importance of ethics in a multicultural society and the criteria that designers can use in order to determine what is ethical and what is not. Alcohol will be utilized as an example to illustrate the diverse perspectives that could cause a humanitarian conflict in ethical design.

Ethical by Design: A Manifesto

Proceedings of the European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics 2017, 2017

This paper presents a collection of 'ethical by design' principles for considering ethical aspects in the design and implementation of technology-based products and services. It is a work-in-progress describing the need for new, innovative concepts and approaches in ethical design-based thinking. The paper argues that design thinking should and can be 'ethical by design'; that designs should strive to go beyond the ethical guidelines that are set by regulatory bodies and other such governance. This manifesto of 'ethical by design' principles is intended to support developers, providers, and users in the collaborative process of inherently and explicitly including ethics into product and service design.

Ethical by Design

Proceedings of the European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics 2017

This paper presents a collection of 'ethical by design' principles for considering ethical aspects in the design and implementation of technology-based products and services. It is a work-inprogress describing the need for new, innovative concepts and approaches in ethical design-based thinking. The paper argues that design thinking should and can be 'ethical by design'; that designs should strive to go beyond the ethical guidelines that are set by regulatory bodies and other such governance. This manifesto of 'ethical by design' principles is intended to support developers, providers, and users in the collaborative process of inherently and explicitly including ethics into product and service design.

Successes and Failures Teaching Visual Ethics: A Class Study

JET, 2010

This article discusses and evaluates the inclusion of ethics learning modules in a graduate-level visual design theory course. Modules were designed as a part of an NEH grant. Students grappled with case studies that probed the ethics of visuals at the crux of the BP oil refinery accident, NASA space shuttle disasters, the Enron collapse, and biomedical research in the Texas Medical Center. The article assesses evidences of learning and ethical absorption, including student surveys, self-reflections and final project rationales. Ultimately, in terms of Rest's Four-Component Model of ethical behavior, integrating the readings and activities helped heighten moral sensitivity and judgment, but failed to yield measurable evidence of moral motivation or character and behavior. The article describes course adjustments to help facilitate student development in the latter two aspects.

Self-regulatory advertising codes as a framework for ethics in design

Academia Letters, 2021

Milton series of questions posed in his essay "Road to Hell", Ken Garland's (1964) manifesto, First Things First 1 and David Berman's (2006) book, Do good design (sic), are seminal texts that actively advocate for ethics in graphic design. Glaser's 11-point questionnaire, and the twelfth item subsequently added following the September 11 attacks, forces a designer to self-reflect when confronted with a design assignment. Garland's manifesto is an expression of the internal conflict that designers face when confronted with the design industry's conflicting demands and one's moral values. Berman's comprehensive book dealing with doing good with design carries a spirit of action, one of doing what one knows is right. He challenges a reader with a simple three-point pledge: to stay true to one's profession, be true to oneself, and devote some of one's time to create a better world.

Picture Perfect (?): Ethical Considerations in Visual Representation

NEXUS, 2004

In this paper, I consider the many ethical dilemmas facing visual anthropologists and those using visual rcpresentation material in their research. The issues are many and are complex. With this paper I scratch only the surface of how to confront and deal with some of them. The main pU'lJose of this paper is not to provide solutions, as ethical questions are always unique to the situations in which they develop. What the paper does do is look at ways in which visual anthropologists. and documentary filmmakers have approached and dealt with a variety of these concerns. An extensive review of historical and contemporary works of visual representations are explored and analysed as examples of the types of ethical issues encountered. In our increasingly postcolonial era. issues of voice. co-authorship and copyright highlight just a few of the current topics covered herein. Techniques such as balanced multivocality. reflexivity. collaboration. and reciprocity are discussed with the aid of short case studies to o ITer examples of the types of ethical issues those using visual material might be faced with and how to possibly deal with (though not necessarily solve) them.