What we put out into the fabric of society will always be a key consideration in our work.
Before we are designers, we are human beings. Like every other human being on the planet, we are part of the social contract. We share a planet. By choosing to be designers, we are choosing to impact the people who come in contact with our work. We acknowledge that we can either help or hurt them with our actions. We are obligated to do our best to leave this planet in better shape than we found it.
We are responsible for the work we put into the world.
Design is a discipline of action. We are responsible for what we put into the world. It has our name on it. And while it is certainly impossible to predict how any of our work may be used, it shouldn’t be a surprise when work that is meant to hurt someone fulfils its mission. We cannot be surprised when a gun we designed kills someone. We cannot be surprised when a poster we designed to encourage neighbours to inform on their immigrant neighbours gets those neighbours deported. When we knowingly produce work that is intended to harm, we are abdicating our responsibility. When we ignorantly produce work that harms others because we didn’t consider the full ramifications of that work, we are doubly guilty.
The work we bring into the world is our legacy. It will outlive us. And it will speak for us.
We fear the consequences of our work more than we love the cleverness of our ideas.
Design does not exist in a vacuum. Society is the biggest system we can impact and everything we do is a part of that system, good and bad. Ultimately we must judge the value of our work based on that impact, rather than any aesthetic considerations. An object that is designed to harm people, animals or the environment cannot be said to be well-designed, no matter how aesthetically pleasing it might be, because to design it well is to design it to harm others.
As such, we adhere to, and exceed the AIGA Standards of Professional Practice.