A Critique on Moral Approaches to and Assessment of Design

Abstract

Background With increased interests in design in recent years, design practices began to be assessed through ethics. Moral approaches to design date back to the 1970s, although then this was only a matter discussed by design professionals. Hence, the recent interests in design ethics can be viewed in this historical context and as a matter that has been expanded to become a public issue by being conflated with the enhanced social responsibilities of design. Methods In this research, deductive reasoning is used to address a conclusion from the premise that issues of the morality of design are related to the socio-political situation of the 2000s. After reviewing earlier studies and discourses from the 20th century, moral matters and their contexts will be identified. Results Moral matters can be an opportunity to response to design in its social aspects, whereas they are often used as a factor to restrict various approaches. Moral approaches to design have been booming in the 2000s. A critical review of design ethics, however, were not included in these approaches. Thus, reformative design activities lie behind moral matters and are considered just as good deeds. Conclusions These changes provide us with a ground upon which to discuss design as a cultural and social practice. On the other hand, such a tendency makes a negative impact on designers, by suppressing a potential active movement of the design community. Furthermore, this could provoke the internalization and de-politicization of design, thereby limiting the design practice to an act of charity. Thus, it is required to examine the socio-cultural context of the ethical assessment of design and to make a critical analysis of the implications of ethics in contemporary design.