Julian

Here’s link that might interest you:
http://eyeburningissues1.typepad.com/forum/2006/12/being_good_by_l.html

There’s a longer version at:
http://www.eyemagazine.com/opinion.php?id=134&oid=362
http://www.eyemagazine.com/opinion.php?id=143&oid=370

In my opinion, being ethical as a typographer means transmitting the text you are communicating as faithfully as possible.

Paul

Hi Paul,

Thanks for that link, that blog has lots of interesting articles.
I agree with your opinion on being an ethical typographer.

Are there any projects on which you would refuse to do on the basis of your ethics?

Julian

I definitely think its the designers job to educate their clients on ethical practices, to research around the area of a particular project and to be responsible for the practices involved. Ultimately if you refuse to take a job based on your ethical values, surely someone else is just going to pick it up?

But at the same time I’m sick of seeing weak ethical guidelines full of shoulds. Ultimately at the end of the day, under stress and and hardship, ethics are the first thing to fly out the window.

This leads me back to the basis of my first post.
I want to try and promote a set of ethical values (Not Guidlines), in which my peers dont think of ethics as limitations or boundaries, but as something that they positively incorporate into every project.

Thiis is where my request for your stories comes in,
I believe narrative is an excellent way of installing values. If people can read about someone else who has sucessfully challenged the conventional practise of design, it becomes a whole lot more feasable.
Perhaps you stood up in the face of ethical uncertainty, successfully influenced a clients unethical practice, or where in hindsight realised that what your were doing was wrong.

I think there is power in these stories for influencing my generation (The next generation) of designers.

I definitely think its the designers job to educate their clients on ethical practices…

I believe there’s an old saying about glass houses and stones. And that clients who have to listen to me lecture them on ethics won’t be working with me next time—and rightly so.

But at the same time I’m sick of seeing weak ethical guidelines full of shoulds.

I’m sick of callow pedants who see the world in black and white can can’t stop telling everyone else how to live their lives. This includes preachy designers, James Dobson, and the Taliban.

If people can read about someone else who has sucessfully challenged the conventional practise of design, it becomes a whole lot more feasable.

I believe that we would be much better off if people took an introductory course in ethics and developed critical thinking skills that can be applied to ethical behavior rather than just listening to other designers preach about how we should all behave ourselves.

“I definitely think its the designers job to educate their clients on ethical practices”

In what context? Are we talking professional ethics? If so, then it’d be your job as the designer to adhere to your set of professional ethics and the client, theirs.

“I’m sick of seeing weak ethical guidelines full of shoulds.”

Well, the graphic design industry isn’t really that complex. Not sure how strong of ethical guidelines we need. And aren’t all ethical guidelines mostly ’shoulds’? At least in the non-life-threatening professions? ;o)

In terms of educating clients, being a web developer, I’ve often had to do some basic 101 explanations of IP laws, Spam laws, and such.

Don’t know if this relates to ethics, but I see part of our responsibility as designers, in providing a level of craftsmanship that is not necessarily related to the demands of a particular client, but are for the betterment of the overall field.
It used to be, that watchmakers would put intricate, elaborate designs on the inside surface of the case that no one but the occasional watch repairer would be likely to see, for the sole benefit of getting a satisfaction of creating a well-crafted thing. This sort of satisfaction in your work, and respect for the people who’d come in contact with it could be quite useful in the design field.
The possible ethical implication might be, that we should make sure not to subject the public at large to more poorly-make and tasteless solutions.
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Personal Art and Design Portal of Ivan Gulkov
www.ivangdesign.com