Fish Tales

Y'see, most men, they'll tell a story straight through, it won't be complicated, but it won't be interesting either. —Edward Bloom (from the movie "Big Fish")

The fictional character from "Big Fish," Edward Bloom, spent most of his life as a traveling salesman. Known for his gift of storytelling, the statement that he makes to his son, a journalist in search of truth, nicely sums up the conundrum of graphic designers. Getting a message across by creating visual interest through unique and compelling imagery is our job. Is this possible when telling a story straight through without providing any embellishments?In an interview for Lucienne Roberts' book, Good: Ethics of Graphic Design, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, Anthony Grayling, says that he feels asking graphic designers not to persuade is like asking fishermen not to fish—it’s what we are trained to do.In the essay "Advocating Ethical Design" David Berman, graphic designer and author of Do Good Design, contends that on the contrary, it's a graphic designer's responsibility to take the time to understand the mechanics of persuasion and use it responsibly—he feels anything else are visual lies, and deadly.Berman believes people are much more influenced by things that look real as opposed to symbology and feels that the laws and rules of society and declared through words, not pictures, make it easier to get around a law with the vagueness of pictures.This debate is not new, it's a topic that's been discussed by graphic designers for years. However what Berman is particularly concerned with is how ethics apply to graphic design on the web. If the battle is being waged to make graphic designers more ethically responsible, how can this message be spread to the DIY population—those untrained in graphic design who write, upload, and create their own work and post it directly online? According to Berman, “Designers tend to underestimate how much power they have. They’re culpable.” He estimates that within a decade, the majority of humanity will be able to publish information on the web. And that’s why almost everyone needs to know something about ethical web design.Another essay on the Digital Ethics website, Digital Ethics and Kids, discusses the responsibility of teaching digital ethics in the home. They contend that children who are raised in families who have no moral or ethical knowledge will not make ethical decisions with their use of digital media and that they won't even realize if they are doing right or wrong.What do you think? Does the web make the responsibility of graphic designers any different and how much responsibility do they bear? Should the push for digital ethics be made at home, toward graphic designers, or both?Sources:http://www.finestquotes.com/movie_quotes/movie/Big%20Fish/page/0.htmhttp://digitalethics.org/2011/05/20/essay-advocating-ethical-designhttp://digitalethics.org/2011/06/14/essay-digital-ethics-and-kids/

Does graphic design require a certain moral flexibility?

In Thank You For Smoking the main character, Nick Naylor, a spokesman for a tobacco company, tells his son, “My job requires a certain... moral flexibility.” While every profession must deal with ethics in its particular field, graphic designers are trained to “make things look good.” The very nature of their core mission inherently lends itself to a certain “moral flexibility.” Anthony Grayling, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Supernumerary Fellow at St. Anne’s College, Oxford, England thinks that asking graphic designers not to persuade is like asking fishermen not to fish—it’s what they are trained to do.Historically, graphic design has been an agent of moral and ethical thought. From the Code of Hammurabi to illuminated manuscripts to the broadsheets used to spread the word of Martin Luther, graphic design has been used to visually communicate beliefs and ideas—to inform, inspire, and delight. During the Middle Ages campaigns like Ars moriendi were designed specifically to influence the behavior of individuals, in this case urging those on their deathbed from the bubonic plague to leave their money to the church. Soviet propaganda produced after the Russian revolution practically rewrote Soviet history. More recently the Obama branding campaign has been deemed one of the most successful branding campaigns for a political candidate.What do you think? Does graphic design require a moral flexibility?