Dear
Toon,
I
have just completed a PhD thesis that explores product design and ethics, with
a focus on the development of responsibility in designers. I have included the
abstract here:
The
design professions today claim to take responsibility seriously but the
knowledge base for guiding responsible designing is erratic. Some definition of
the topic has been provided through the interface between engineering and
ethics but the relationship between responsibility and product design has
received less attention.
This
thesis makes a contribution to the emerging research area of responsible design
by attempting to answer the question of how designers develop concepts about
responsibility. Using interview and card sorting research methodologies, and
using participants drawn from both education and practice, the thesis explores
how designers perceive and understand the idea of responsibility in their work
as product designers.
The
thesis comprises three main studies: first year undergraduate students,
graduating design students, and practising designers. It explores the way
designers’ perceptions mediate the interpretation and application of
responsibility in their practice. The results show how concepts of responsibility
change and evolve as levels of expertise in designing develop.
The
key findings show that (1) designers are interested and willing to address
issues of responsibility; (2) the concept of responsibility changes as
designers move through their careers;(3) the language that designers use to
articulate the scope of responsibility and ethics becomes broader, richer and
more abstract with professional maturity; (4) the design of products is a complex
process and models for addressing design responsibility need to reflect this complexity;
and (5) the work has produced unique and designerly methods to explore
responsibility in design.
The
findings have major implications for design education, particularly at
undergraduate level. More generally, the innovative, highly visual methods
developed as part of this work are highly relevant to future research with
designers as participants.
If
you are interested, you can download the full thesis at:
http://design.open.ac.uk/birkett/index.htm
Best wishes,
Stacey
[log in to unmask]
> Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 10:52:24 +0000
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: ehtics for designers?
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Dear Toon
>
> Coming at this from architecture, although there is a lot of material on
> architecture and ethics most of this material focuses on either professional
> ethics, technology, responses to specific issues such as sustainability, or
> debates on aesthetic judgement. I think there is gap dealing with the design
> process which is covered more in design theory. I agree with Derek that it
> is best to start with ethical literature itself but be careful what you
> choose. I'd recommend Heinz von Foerster, Ethics and Second Order
> Cybernetics as this is very compatible with design. (There is also a
> promising sounding book which I've not read - Warwick Fox, A Genral Theory
> of Ethics - which I think may make good links to design although the paper I
> read on it linking it to architecture was in danger of reducing this to
> aesthetic conservativism). I think there is a deep link between design and
> ethics: afterall according to Sartre we are all projects ourselves! As
> designers we deal with situations which have no one logical, correct
> solution but where our actions impact on large numbers of other people. In
> response design has various implicit mechanisms for establishing
> participative conversations (such as drawings) which although we do not
> always use to their full potential I think offer us more general ethical
> guidance.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Ben
|