Ethics in Graphic Design
Ethics
is a study of moral dilemmas in action. Morals are defined as codes of conduct
that are based on personal beliefs and values. A personal act can be considered
moral, immoral or amoral.
Ethical Choices
I will
always strive to make ethical choices and will try to find the most ethical
solution to a problem. When making ethical choices I may encounter a situation
where I will have to compromise but this will not affect future ethical
decisions.
Balance
Ethics
have to be balanced with design decisions.
Respect Design
Graphic
design is a powerful tool that can be used in both good and bad ways. It can be
used to communicate and influence, giving it great power, which must not be
abused.
Priorities
When
presented with a design dilemma priorities will have to be evaluated to find a
good solution. Do you sacrifice good design to reduce production costs or do
you find a solution which can satisfy both the need of cost and good design.
Define your code
An
ethical code can never be absolute but one’s own ethical code can be adjusted
as you see fit. This code is probably built from personal experience, beliefs
and values and like other ethical codes we may follow affects how we view
situations and how we handle them.
Overall ethics
Sometime
your personal design ethics will conflict with those of a client or a clients
request might be unethical altogether. Here you must make a decision to either
refuse to do a project or inform the client of the damaging effects of what
they are requesting or suggest an alternative that is not offensive and will
serve the purpose of the client’s request.
Respect
Treat
others as you would like to be treated. Design should be something which is
unbiased and tries not to be offensive to any person or any part of their life.
Religion, career, etc should not be purposefully attacked or be offended.
Always the Best
I will
always strive to produce the best work possible even if it may not benefit me
as I wish and in professional circumstances will not produce the maximum profit
for you.
Reciprocity to designers
I will
not criticize a fellow designer’s work if I am not willing to allow others to
criticise my work. Criticism given must always be constructive and must never
break down a designer’s confidence or make them doubt their own work.
Moral superiority
Believing
that you are superior or better than somebody else must not affect the way in
which you treat potential clients and fellow designers. Denying a service based
on moral bias should be considered unethical and positive points as well as
results that could come from a project must be considered.
Reciprocity to clients
The
respect that I expect as a customer in professional situation will be given to
any client no matter what their project is and the importance of their project
will also not have an effect of this.
Opinions count
The
views of other and their opinions must always be taken into consideration and
in most design situations asked for.
The client is important
We must
not presume that our client will know what we know of design. When a client has
questions, about design or production, we must answer them all patiently. It is
your responsibility to help a client understand any concerns that they may
have.
Consequences
I will
claim responsibility for any foreseeable consequences that may result from my
work; these will be determined by research. I will however not claim
responsibility for unforeseen consequences brought about by a client’s
unethical behaviour.
Content
Before
endorsing something proper research will have to be done on the designer’s
part. Significance, audiences and ability to complete it must be considered and
will define the amount of research that will have to be done to complete the
project. The research could indicate whether or not the project goes against
your ethical code.
Eddy Mashele
Cindy du Plessis
