Civil Rights vs. the Right of Refusal

As the supreme court decides the case against a Colorado baker and his right to refuse a gay couple's request for a wedding cake, parallels to the graphic design profession are easily drawn. Last week I posed the question to my graphic design class and asked them to imagine that the case was not about a cake, but about a wedding invitation. Like the supreme court, the class was not all on the same page. While some immediately felt it was the responsibility to serve the couple, others felt strongly that the cake designer had rights too, and that his right to refuse should be protected.What followed was a lively discussion about civil rights vs. personal rights and when and where lines can be drawn. Parallels to the civil rights movement were made and how the implications of what allowing one small business in Colorado to do sets the stage for abuses of civil rights on a larger scale for other marginalized groups. As one New York times article asks, "should free speech protections include self expression that discriminates?"The debate brings up morality issues that are core to any service business. Like an attorney, is it a graphic designers' responsibility to represent their client without being influenced by their own personal beliefs, including non-secular issues that are at odds with laws that are in place to protect our civil rights?Sources:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/learning/should-free-speech-protections-include-self-expression-that-discriminates.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/12/05/wedding-cake-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-highly-anticipated-supreme-court-ruling/?utm_term=.179c4376e606

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