Ethics in graphic design
Friday’s Creative Review for Graphic Designers
Today is more of a philosophical post more than anything else. It stemmed from an article that appeared this week in AdAge Mediaworks.
They were talking about how magazine editors in the US and UK want to introduce a “code of conduct” for how designers use Photoshop to perfect the imperfections. How far is too far?
We often hear about ethics in fields like law and medicine, but I’ve never heard of ethics applied to graphic design. It really got me thinking.
Should graphic designers develop a code of ethics? Or should ethics go out the window when you are paid to do as the client asks? Who is responsible for deceitful advertising?
I often wonder whether what we design shouldn’t be a reflection on the kind of designers we are…
What should a designer’s responsibility be towards his audience?
- Should we accept jobs that clearly manipulate?
- Do we accept jobs where the product may be misleading and/or deceitful (or plain lying)?
- Should we be airbrushing pictures? I’m not talking simply about removing pimples and touching up skin blotches, I’m talking about removing pounds, and making the subject look like someone else or completely different?
- Should we only take jobs that are dignified and we truly believe in?
- Does for whom and what we design have to mesh with our beliefs and our principles? Or can we separate what we believe from the equation?
C O N C L U S I O N :
What kind of designer do you want to be?
Do we have a responsibility to our audience? Or does that fall on our client?
Should we accept the responsibility for the kind of jobs we are taking?
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