A series of articles about ethics and moral philosophy (for designers) that aim to go beyond dark patterns.

Learn More About Ethics

Hi, Kevin here.

The recent gain of interest for designers about ethics and “doing good” with their work is an interesting by-product of the societal realization of the various “bad” outcomes lead by years of excess in intrusive technics.

But, this is not a recent topic. Designers across the world have interests in ethics for many years and tons of books have been written on this very subject over decades. It is worth noting, however, that designers’ sensibility, interest, and care for this subject vary a lot depending on many factors: localization, culture, society, industry, etc. or simply situational urges.

Another angle to this is the increased availability of big data systems and the infiltration of artificial intelligence (AI) into software-enabled systems. Many concerns related to ethics regarding software engineering revolve around the ethics of AI and mostly focus on the fair and unbiased use of data. Corollary to this is obviously the subject of (data) privacy.

This convergence of interests towards ethical considerations in tech (ethics, morals, values, etc.) from both business, professionals, and society consequently brings lots of attention in the places where decisions seem to be made on a day-to-day, product or service level basis: design, engineering, and “front-line” management. For better and worse.

While today’s “ethics” in design seems closely (and inevitably) linked to dark patterns, although it is a more recent trend. It brings an interesting but narrow focus on actual practices and technics used in user interfaces (and UX) to trick users to perform something that, in the short term, benefits the business while deserving the users.

I will, however, try to separate the two subjects that are not exclusively related. To be clear, I will not talk much about dark patterns. Not because it is not interesting, but because of these few reasons:

  1. There have been already extensive writings and discussions about dark patterns over recent years. Some great books are available that cover the subject very well and in great detail.
  2. The intentionality and specificity of “dark patterns” cannot be overstated (see here, here). While I’m sure some companies willing to “growth hack” their business at any cost may be attracted to such practices, there are also tons of other situations that lead to negative outcomes, yet not covered by dark patterns and which are still part of ethics.
  3. Ethics (and morals) are about how we make decisions and how they lead to positive or negative outcomes by their standards. Ethics are about how we define what is “good” and “bad”, what is “desirable” or not as outcomes, and how we act upon these definitions. Dark patterns are, therefore, a subset of such considerations.

For that, I will focus on what philosophers discuss for centuries: moral philosophy. Through a series of articles, I will cover the basic themes of the various movements and ideologies in moral philosophy. This will help understand some principles behind some positions of today’s discussion and what are some of their limitations.

Design deontology? Ethical principles? Utilitarianism? Design virtues? What are they and what are the differences?

Available Articles

I will update this list regularly.

Ethics For Designers: What’s Cultural Relativism?
When your moral principles are what your society approves of.
Design & Critical ThinkingKevin Richard
Ethics For Designers: Important Ethical & Moral Notions
Understanding the differences between metaethics, normative ethics, deontology, and consequentialism.
Design & Critical ThinkingKevin Richard
Design & Critical Thinking - Issue #1
Hi, Kevin here.Recently, I committed to writing about ethics in design (here and here). My goal is to humbly (try to) go beyond the current state of the discussion: dark patterns. My first idea is to illustrate the “ethical landscape” by approaching major ethical concepts. Another angle I would like…
Revue
Design & Critical Thinking - Issue #2
Hi everyone, Kevin here.I sincerely hope you are all well in these uncertain, complicated times! I continue my journey towards (humbly) setting up the basis for an ethics-literate community. This is more than ever important given the situation. Indeed, what was questionable yesterday is now overlook…
Revue
The Ethics Of Design Sprint
An endeavor you are passively subscribing to.
Design & Critical ThinkingKevin Richard

About the same topic 👇👇

[Brainshot] Design doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Do we act accordingly?
Business value, ethics, and designers’ responsibilities.
Design & Critical ThinkingKevin Richard
[Brainshot] The Issue With Common Sense
And why it’s a bad tool in most contexts.
Design & Critical ThinkingKevin Richard
An Answer To Designers Moral Imperative To Focus On Known Knowns
Hi Fabricio Teixeira, thanks for sharing thoughts 👍Let me, for the sake of a (hopefully) interesting debate, kindly challenge your point of view…
MediumKevin Richard

About The Series

I will publish here and on medium the articles regularly over the coming days, weeks (months?). This is a broad topic with a lot to cover, so expect some length extensive articles as well as shorter ones on more specific principles or concepts. So stay tuned!

I am not a moral philosopher. As such, I write here as a humble learner, largely inspired by referential books and writings. Through my readings and researches on the subject of morals and ethics, I discovered views I was unaware of and others not unfamiliar with but rarely as well articulated. I sincerely hope you will too.

That being said, and for full transparency, I tend towards the consequentialist stand of ethics which, to my own understanding, better acknowledge the complexity of the world.

References