Design Ethics
A Response to 'Dear Designer: Bad Work Is Always Your Fault'
by Grainne O'Flaherty, Design Enterprise Studio Member, March 2021
Ethics is not something new to consider in regard to design, however, with the growth of the digital design industry ethical consideration has become not only more complex in regard to legislation, but more insidious and dangerous for the low level designer attempting to traverse a legal minefield while supporting themselves and their family.
Mike Monteiro’s article “Dear Designer: Bad Work Is Always Your Fault”, published on June 26th, 2019, answers a user submitted question; “I work at a large company. Decisions are made way above my pay grade. I’m able to influence small things, but not the larger picture, even when I know decisions, we’re making are unethical — such as using what I know to be a dark pattern to keep our users from unsubscribing. I certainly don’t want to get fired. If the decision is coming down from management, can...