How to Be Good

The notion of being a "good" designer has always been fraught with contradictions. Does it mean good technical skills, good concepts, good return on investment for clients, good intentions, or good design for the greater good? All are valid questions—in fact, history shows us that award-winning design may be both technically "good" while even advancing the most evil of causes.This past year the opening of "Design of the Third Reich" in the Netherlands caused quite a controversy. Proponents of the exhibit point to the academic world of design, where the art and design of totalitarian regimes is an established field of research. Critics find it's very nature offensive and have protested outside the museum since it opened, voicing concerns that it lacks proper social context and may fuel the fires of far-right ideologies.Perhaps the most current and critical area of ethical issues in design is in the area of product design and UX/UI. Mike Monteiro's article, "Dear Designer: Hope is Not Enough," leads with an anonymous quote from a Facebook employee where they state, "We’ve been behaving so badly that I hope the government comes in and regulates us."Monteiro’s article does offer hope when he talks about the 22,000 Google employees who staged a walkout in protest of their company's work with the government, and the Microsoft workers who protested against their company’s contract with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). However, when he discusses the unprecedented amount of data harvested from Google's 2.5 billion users and discusses the ethical responsibilities of designers who work there, he points to the elephant in the room and one of the biggest ethical dilemmas that today’s designers deal with—how to responsibly and ethically use this data in a manner that benefits users without compromising their privacy or society's well-being.Designers seeking to do good have always struggled with questions about who their client is and the products that they are promoting. The complicated world of data collection and product design has only added to the Pandora's box: as always, may those who open it beware.Sources:https://news.artnet.com/opinion/timo-de-rijk-nazi-design-1652641https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/17/arts/design/nazi-design-den-bosch.htmlhttps://modus.medium.com/dear-designer-hope-is-not-enough-70509b196a46 

Rules for School (and to live and work by)

 "Dear Design Student" is an advice blog for designers by designers. A recent post written by Mike Monteiro entitled "A Designer's Code of Ethics" hits hard at the core of design practice and what all students and educators, as well as designers, should be thinking about school is about to go back in session.Designers create a lot of ephemera during their careers. Advertisements, brochures, websites, products, and packages all have a limited shelf life and it's easy to think that what we do doesn't have a lasting effect. One of the easiest ways you can test this is if you lose your files. It has happened to me more than once, and while there is always one thing you will need, most of it you will never touch again. Students may feel the same way once they receive their grades.Monteiro offers a counterpoint to this belief when he says, "by choosing to be a designer you are choosing to impact the people who come in contact with your work, you can either help or hurt them with your actions. The effect of what you put into the fabric of society should always be a key consideration in your work."He goes onto to discuss how important the work we make is and how important it is to NOT abdicate responsibility. We need to think about what we do and where it ends up, and more importantly, who or what it represents. He states, "we need to fear the consequences of our work more than we love the cleverness of our ideas."The idea that a designer is hired for their counsel as well as their labor is extremely important. A good designer strikes a delicate balance of listening, interpreting, and advising—as well as designing. Monteiro asserts that "a designer uses their expertise in the service of others without being a servant and that "asking ourselves why we are making something is an infinitely better question than asking ourselves whether we can make it."Monteiro's article raises other issues like designing for the marginalized, or rather the common practice of not designing for them as well as diversity, competition, and self-reflection.As you get ready to go back to school or simply continue with your design practice, it's well worth the read.Source:https://deardesignstudent.com/a-designers-code-of-ethics-f4a88aca9e95