Who's at the forefront of ethical design?
Thinking of ethical designs' role in your business is one thing and putting it into action is another. Who’s taking the lead from 2021 onwards?
Welcome to the Driftime® Desk, a newsletter for the latest happenings, thoughts, finds, and vibes from the better parts of human nature through the lens of design.
It takes a maverick to challenge the way our society operates. The brands, businesses, and people we find ourselves working with compel us to move forward towards a state of commitment and reflection. We love it, and use that very same impetus to drive our own vision and identity in digital design. The transparency that an open dialogue can generate breeds positivity and progress, both professional and personal. It’s a process led by an ambition for a clearer future, with the view to engage in the practices that facilitate a responsible and sustainable outlook. We’re working towards design with purpose, inspired by a collective desire for a future invested in authentically ethical design.
We approach digital design with a fresh perspective, and like to think we know a few brands and businesses doing the same. Founder of Wholegrain Digital, Tom Greenwood is one such leader for businesses and charities conscious of their digital impact; believing in the power of the web to create positive change. Our client partners hcma deliver a similar message, and approach complex challenges through interdisciplinary design and community engagement as a catalyst for tangible change.
It’s important for designers to put control back in the consumer’s hands, providing them with the support and opportunity to make decisions not based on consumerism, but instead rooted in transparency and value. It’s about repositioning ethical design as having core connections to the community. Creatives, strategists, and design leaders can add value to the outcome, leading the narrative through design and the impact it has both in digital and reality. It’s a collective responsibility to disrupt the conversation and reshuffle the priorities of design and its accountability at large.
And so who remains at the forefront? And what can we do too edge a little closer? We took some time earlier this year to discuss how we can each become our ethical selves, taking action, and sharpening focus with purpose-driven design in mind.
Share your thoughts, and how you may be taking ethical design forward in your own unique way.
The function of design is letting design function.
Micha Commeren
Of Relevance…
🔍 💻 Something Spaces is a new free plugin designed to exhibit the work of Black creatives every time a new tab is opened. Created in collaboration with volunteer-run, non-profit design advocacy organisation Where are the Black Designers?, Something Spaces is leading the way in representation.
👤 👏 Hello Monday have designed a digital ASL experience with Fingerspelling.xyz. Working to introduce digital opportunities to "help bridge the communication barrier between the D/deaf and the hearing."
💡 🂡 Idean has designed Cards for Humanity, a practical tool to help you design more inclusively. By dealing both a person and a trait, Cards for Humanity create a random user scenario ready to test your digital service from a different perspective.