There is a long standing ethical discussion in the design profession about whether designers should design for products or services that the designer does not believe in. The ultimate worst-case scenario is obviously the tobacco industry. While typically the discussion is based upon the power of design to evoke a perception that is contrary to the product’s true properties, I would like to discuss a different side of the situation. Those with the power to manage their own accounts have the ability to turn down work that is against their beliefs, however what about those designers who do not.
In the past, I have been in a position in which I would have had to design for a product that I personally opposed. For a number of reasons I did not feel the claims made by the company were truthful or ethical and therefore I opposed doing any work for it. Luckily I was on my way out of the position and never actually had to do the work. I was lucky however I am curious as to what other designers do when confronted with such a situation. There is no set way to handle such a complicated situation, while there are a number of obvious choices.
Do nothing
Obviously the designer has the option to do nothing and do the work without raising concern. This may the easiest way to deal with the situation, however some people may refer to this as “selling out.” I am not passing judgment but I believe this to be the most apathetic of possible actions.
Refuse to do the work
If you really wanted to take a hard stance, you could choose to not do the work altogether. This may land you in some hot water with the management, so I would think really hard before doing this unless you really have something to prove.
Discuss it with your colleagues
So far this is the best option that I can come up with, and was going to be my choice if I had stayed at my previous place of employment. Hopefully through discussion with your colleagues / supervisor they can put someone else on the project or come to some sort of resolution. This however may not be an option in all cases.
In my opinion none of these options are great, which is why I am curious what other designers do, or what they have done in the past. This can be an insanely hard situation position to be put in, and therefore can only be solved on a case by case basis. Ultimately if the firm you work for values these types of clients and projects that you oppose, then maybe there is a larger issue at hand. Either way I believe the collective advice of designers everywhere could go a long way to help those finding themselves in a similar situation. If you have some advice or a related story, please share it in the comments below.
It is a very hard decision, but every situation will be different so it’s difficult to say what you are or are not willing to do. Sometimes just doing the work might be your only option – regardless of how you feel about it.
It ultimately depends if ones convictions run so deep that they would refuse to do any work towards such a project whatsoever or make a compromise ‘just this once’.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with organisations, such as tobacco companies, where although they are ultimately detrimental to ones health – a choice is still available to those that buy their products. Everyone knows smoking kills, so there is no excuse.
This is a pretty interesting one. Certainly for me.
I started off with an information design consultancy 2 years ago, a great small and friendly outfit run by geeks for geeks as it were, where design purism, user-interaction theory and typographic debates could make or break even big projects. Designing information is a great motive for work.
Six months ago I applied for a job as in-house designer & front-end developer for a firm in London who seemed to offer a challenge in workload, paid well and gave the impression of a lot of upward mobility. I was moving to London anyway, this seemed more than any of the other jobs coming my way to use my skills well… The firm I work for markets gambling.
At first this was a challenge. Could I work with hard-headed marketing people for an industry such as this, with a massive workload, inventively devising concepts in advertising for something I don’t believe in? What a challenge! This was unexpected and not education I’d been looking to go through, but what an opportunity…
THE THING IS THIS:
A challenge is not always rewarding. My CV will speak for itself — I’ve done well with this job and this is a challenge I rose to and faced off, but there’s no great pay off.
Sure, I laugh at so-called ‘designers’ fresh out of university who resent the practical needs of design, who want to do their own thing regardless of the product, and who want to chose their design jobs. That’s not being a real designer.
But at the same time there’s nothing to be proud of in putting your ethics on hold for work. ‘Just following orders’ doesn’t cut it when you’re responsible for the quality of the results, and when you accepted those orders when others were on offer.
It is interesting that you mention tobacco. As it is my city recently voted to ban smoking in restaurants and bars (except for casinos). I was ‘volunteered’ at work to create the site for the anti-tobacco lobby. My personal beliefs rejected the idea (and I am not a smoker).
I brought this up with my employer, said I couldn’t do it and he told me that designing the website wasn’t going to make or break a vote.
I ended up doing it anyway. But to be honest it won’t ever go in my portfolio even if it was actually pretty good.
Wow great responses,
@ Anonymous – When you say that you do not think that real designers choose their design jobs what do you mean? I am curious, as designers fire clients all the time. If you mean selecting clients that only fall within the style of design they prefer, then I would agree as well. There are much larger challenges and trials of your skill by taking on a project that fall outside of your area of expertise. This can be a great way to expand and develop your skills.
@ Shoghon – I would argue that a website could make or break a vote. Why else would politicians be so concerned with blogs and the internet media in this election? Also, advertising no matter which medium it utilizes is created for the sole purpose on influencing others, whether it be to buy something or even vote for something. If it didn’t work, then why would people waste money on it? I am not attacking you, rather pointing out the flaw in your employers logic.
Thank you everyone for your comments, they offer tons of insight.