The Goods of Design: Professional Ethics for Designers - Paperback

by Ariel Guersenzvaig (Author)

A 2022 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title
What ends should designers pursue? To what extent should they care about the societal and environmental impact of their work? And why should they care at all? Given the key influence design has on the way people live their lives, designing is fraught with ethical issues. Yet, unlike education or nursing, it lacks widespread professional principles for addressing these issues.
Rooted in a communitarian view of design practice, this lively and accessible book examines design through the lens of professions, offering a critical vision that enables practitioners, academics and students of design in all disciplines to reflect on the practice's overarching purposes. Considering how these are connected to others' flourishing and moulded by community interactions, "The Goods of Design" argues for a practice-based approach to cultivate professional ethics; it provides a normative direction that can meaningfully guide professional design activity, both individually and collectively. The volume also looks into the implications work has for the designer's self-growth as a person, offering ways to discover and navigate the complex tensions between personal and professional life.

Author Biography

Ariel Guersenzvaig is Professor of Design Theory at ELISAVA, Faculty of Design and Engineering at UVic-UCC in Barcelona, Spain. He is a design practitioner with over 20 years of experience, and his work has been published in academic journals such as ACM Interactions, AI & Society and IEEE Technology and Society Magazine.