Blog: Tag / design ethics

ABSTRACT

In recent years, designers have shown an increased awareness towards social responsibility. Designers are becoming more aware of their influence on people and the world we live in. While designers try as much as possible to incorporate social responsibility into their work, there is always the dilemma of how to embrace ethical design practice. Questions such as when and where should social responsibility take place in design, and what are the ethical choices that come with it, are begging to be defined. Equally important questions are how do designers intend to use their power to influence different users and audience, and how will social responsibility be reflected and implemented?

This paper analyses the issues surrounding social responsibility and ethical practice in Visual Communication Design from the theoretical standpoint and through the eyes of graphic designers, as well as the emerging design ethics movement in recent years. While this paper can not give definite answers to all the questions, it is expected that further discussions and debate will follow in order to investigate social responsibility and ethics in visual communication design, from both the perspective of the designer and the people who buy the design.