How Should Designers Navigate Modern Social & Political Climates?

I’m asking this question this week because, honestly, I’ve struggled to personally address this over the last few years. I’m really asking myself:

How can I write strategy and design for brands and businesses during America’s infatuation with fascism, a changing global climate, genocide in Palestine, and the continuing exploitation of the Global South by the cultural West?

Or: how can or should I balance the need to function within western capitalism with the morals and ethics that my parents passed down to me, and that I hope I can share with others?

There were a few times I was complaining about my life to my father when he reminded me of my privilege. “You’re a white man living in Southern California, you have little if anything to complain about,” he would say. I’m thankful for the awareness that my parents instilled in me, and I’ve used a lot of what they taught me to be a better designer (empathy, curiosity, justice, etc.).

This all led to today’s question: How Should Designers Navigate Modern Social & Political Climates?

Tackling the idea or spirit behind this question is nothing new. Victor Papanek, an early and consistent voice in observing design beyond the commercial, has an oft-used quote: “there are professions more harmful than design, but only a very few of them.” Papanek recognized that design has the power, and in turn the responsibility, to guide human action and influence social and ecological outcomes. He often criticized advertising and the role it plays in unnecessary consumption, and he called out the part design plays in driving it. He also advocated for design to measure its impact in ways other than how it influences financial metrics. I wonder how he would respond to today’s data-obsessed (I’m sorry, “data-driven”) *product design culture?

*(Oh, by the way, when I say product designers I mean user interface designers who design software… this definition will probably lead to a future question at some point.)

On that note, let’s fast-forward to the book Ruined by Design by Mike Monteiro. Like Papanek, he argues that designers have a social and moral obligation to gatekeep, to say no to design decisions that are knowingly harmful to humanity. He states it elegantly in his book:

“If you believe you need to do what your boss wants because they’re paying you, you also need to believe the doctor should provide the oxycodone if the addict is willing to pay for it. The exchange of cash for services doesn’t supersede ethics.”

I remember reading this book with my jaw dropped and my blood pressure rising as Monteiro outlined the rise of the modern tech industry and the irresponsibility and criminality that helped it rise, all by design. This book was one of the first “wake-up calls” for me in the sense that it validated a feeling I had but never addressed: capitalism does not require designers to serve people; it requires them to serve the business. I would argue that most organizations that claim to practice “human-centered design” are actually using that moniker to push well-known design patterns and “efficiencies” that work well for the business but, at best, do nothing for the human using the product or service, and at worst actively harm them.

Milton Glaser also has the famous “Road to Hell in 12 Steps,” which runs from designing a package to look bigger on the shelf all the way to designing an ad for a product whose frequent use could result in the user’s death.

All of this up to this point is context on what has informed my answer. I’m sure my response won’t be a surprise considering everything I’ve laid out.

Designers should first be aware that design is never neutral and is always political; it’s always going to have a social, cultural, and economic impact one way or another. Michael Bierut sums this notion up nicely:

“Much, if not most, graphic design is about communicating messages, and many of these messages are intended to persuade. This places its practice clearly in the realm of politics.”

I argue that it’s impossible to be a designer and not care at all about politics, social dynamics, and cultural impact. If a designer claims they do not care about these things, that is in fact a political stance (and a harmful one at that). Tech and now AI companies consistently show us the results of what started off as a general apathy for humanity that has now evolved into a desire to “disrupt” it.

If we can agree that design is political and never neutral, then we need to understand its role within capitalism, which is a catalyst for this question and, I imagine, a struggle for many a designer. Designers, like everyone else, need to make money to function within capitalism, which often, if not always, means designing artifacts intended to make a business more money or save a business money. This function is not inherently harmful, but it’s obviously rife with potential to cause harm.

So we are now aware that design is political and that it has a function within capitalism with great potential to cause harm. What do we do now?

I have a few ideas that lead to my answer to this week’s question:

1. As Monteiro suggests, be a gatekeeper, and at least call out a harmful design decision if someone is suggesting it. Hopefully you are in a position to say no. I imagine most aren’t. But I think we can do some good by causing some “good trouble” within the organizations we work in.

2. On a similar note, be the person in the room who cares about more than the growth metrics and the company’s bottom line.

3. I say this knowing that we all have lives, families, and responsibilities outside of our design work to care about, but find some time, even if it’s just mere minutes, to use your design skills for good. This might mean doing design work outside of your daily job, but designers have the skills and, in turn, the responsibility to make a difference, even if that difference is small… it all adds up.

4. This one is a harder ask, but it’s something I still want to suggest. Quit. Refuse to participate in design decisions that will negatively impact the political and social climate. Start your own thing, or find a company that’s doing some real good in the world. Again, find a way to use your abilities to positively impact humanity, because I still believe that at its best, that is exactly what design does for us.

So…..

How Should Designers Navigate Modern Social & Political Climates?

1. Be aware of and observe the social and political ramifications of design decisions being made within your team and org.

2. Question the choices that are being made. Say no if you feel that the choices being made above you are going to cause harm.

3. If all else fails, find your own way to use your design skills to positively impact the political and social climate we are all trying to navigate.

4. Be a decent human being.

Additional Reading:

http://www.designishistory.com/1960/first-things-first/

https://blog.dropbox.com/topics/work-culture/do-designers-need-a-code-of-ethics-

https://medium.com/bits-and-behavior/a-synopsis-of-costanza-chocks-design-justice-e00a476008fa

https://dylanopet.medium.com/milton-glasers-road-to-hell-in-12-steps-c40f222e0f06