Jan, I would like to respond to the following questions and comments in
your last post:
"I have a question of whether design education does the same thing. Are
designers educated to consider the ethics of what they are doing in order to
make informed choices in their professional capacities? If they are not, why
not? Further, are they advised to ignore the ethical questions surrounding
their profession even though the impact of what they do may have grave effects
on the present and the future? If they are diverted from thinking and
discussing these issues it seems a kind of marginalising of their ability to
fully participate in their own lives. It is like saying "Don't worry your
pretty little head about this." "
We have a great number of designers in the US very concerned about ethical
issues that range from consumer use to environmental topics. This content
is included throughout the industrial design curriculum and is reinforced
through the National Association of Schools in Art and Design (NASAD), the
US accrediting body for industrial design. The Industrial Designers Society
of America (IDSA) also has ethical guidelines. These guidelines are
available on the NASAD and IDSA websites. We had major backlash to the
styling issue in the '70s and styling became a "dirty word" in many design
programs. It was viewed as superficial and serving the designer, not the
intended user of the designer. Since then, styling has become more
acceptable as a term related to industrial design when it is done in
conjunction with other methods and processes, such as user testing and
design research.
Lorraine Justice, Ph.D., FIDSA
Director, Industrial Design
404.385.0462
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