Students on the "Road to Hell"

Graphic design students will wrestle with many ethical issues in their careers. If they aren't already aware of image usage rights, design plagiarism, and issues of sustainability the courses they take will no doubt touch upon these topics at one time or another. However some of the biggest ethical issues that they will face in their careers are the choices they must make in order to make a living.Sérgio Manuel Neves is a recent graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon. He explored the topic of "ethos" and "ethics" in graphic design for one his projects this past spring. The publication that he created, Ethics: Graphic Design In Takes includes excerpts from authors on the topic of ethics in graphic design and designers like Milton Glaser, creator of the chart "12 Steps on the Graphic Designer's Road to Hell."What might surprise some people is that in his essay, "The Road to Hell," Milton Glaser states that he personally has taken a number of the steps on the chart he created. Others, like author Mark Johnson, wouldn’t be surprised. In his book Moral Imagination, Johnson states that we would be morally irresponsible to think and act as if we possess a universal reason that generates absolute rules, decision‐making procedures, and universal or categorical laws by which we can tell right from wrong in any situation we encounter. According to Johnson, absolute moral laws ignore what’s truly important about the concept of morality, to achieve imaginative dimensions of moral understanding that make it possible for us to determine what’s really important in any given situation or relationship and to make wise decisions accordingly. The ability to reach these decisions requires exploration, discussion, and imagination.Where are you on the “Road to Hell” and what do you think is the best way to prepare students for the choices they must make?Listen to the "Design Matters" Milton Glaser Podcast Interview by Debbie Millman where he talks about the road to hell.Sources:http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0802/gla/Mark Johnson, Moral Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science forEthics (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1993), 5.http://designobserver.com/observermedia/audiofile.html?entry=8927