CONSUMER PRODUCT LABELLING
If you are involved in the design of certain types of consumer products or packages, you need to be aware of any applicable labeling requirements. In the U.S. a number of federal and state laws have been enacted to protect consumers from unknowingly purchasing products that might be unsafe or unsanitary. Similar laws are in place in Canada, Japan, and the European Union. The laws cover a variety of product categories, including food, pharmaceuticals, textiles, bedding, furniture, and toys. Specific formats vary, but the labeling requirements often include identification of contents and country of origin, as well as the inclusion of safety instructions and warnings. For example, here are two sites with information about food product labels:

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Food Product Design

ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
With each passing year, issues related to ecology and sustainability become more critical for the entire world. Designers can make a big difference—not only through responsible choices about materials and processes used in current projects, but also by staying well informed and providing expert guidance to clients about long-term plans and activities. Industrial designers in particular are faced with a dual challenge—the need to constantly recreate and improve products while at the same time avoiding the excesses of planned obsolescence and throwaway culture. Innovative thinking is needed to reduce consumption and waste, reduce the use of toxic materials, encourage reuse and recycling, increase energy efficiency, and encourage the development and use of renewable energy sources. In many countries, ecological principles are being written into law. For example, Germany has taken the lead in establishing requirements for manufacturers regarding the use of recycled materials, the use of sustainable energy sources, and the reduction of waste. General reference information is available to designers from a number of sources, including several professional associations. Here are two places to start:

• The AIGA has a publication titled Print Design and Environmental Responsibility, available for download.
• The IDSA site addresses issues of environmental responsibility, with practical guidelines and links to other informational sites.

PROFESSIONAL VALUES
Clearly, the universal design concerns and ecological responsibilities mentioned above are part of a much broader system of moral values and obligations—not just how we do our work but what it is that we are doing in the first place and what impact it will have on the world. While there is strong agreement about what constitutes professional behavior toward our immediate clients and peers, there is less consensus about the obligations of designers toward society in general and the role that we should play in finding solutions to complex global problems. Here we move beyond objective instructions on how to do something, and into subjective decisions about what is right and good. It’s quite possible to be a skilled designer and a successful businessperson without being a good global citizen. Here are just a few of the many interrelated social, economic, and political challenges that we are facing:

THE EXPANSION OF CONSUMER CULTURE
Designers are involved in many different activities, but a significant portion of the work that we do promotes corporate commercialism. When serving commerce, we need to be aware of the influence and impact that our work has on the public. Marketing and advertising shape consumer culture, including the self-image and personal values of buyers. Our involvement in materialism and conspicuous consumption may even extend to the creation of artificial needs and the promotion of unnecessary products through advertising and marketing messages that are manipulative or deceptive. These concerns are also present in the political realm, where the latest consumer marketing techniques are used to manufacture consent on political issues and to sell candidates to voters. Two very interesting commentaries are available online about the relationship between commercialism and design.

• The first is an article by Milton Glaser called “The Road to Hell.” In it, he shares his thoughts about the moral shades of gray that designers encounter in client assignments. It was published in Metropolis in 2002.
• The second is a manifesto called “First Things First” by designer Ken Garland. It was first written in 1964, then updated and republished in 2000 with the signatures of 33 well-known international designers. It has stimulated a great deal of discussion within the design community and has been published in a number of magazines including Adbusters, Emigre, and Eye.

THE INCREASING POWER OF CORPORATIONS
Most leading design firms work for large corporate clients, and it’s no secret that good design sometimes supports bad companies. Private profit-making is often at odds with public good. Designers function as advisors to corporate clients and as advocates for the end user. In this capacity, we can exert a positive influence on clients and inspire responsibility. To do this, we must dig deeper, ask questions, express doubts, and propose alternatives. We must actively work to resolve contradictions between business and societal needs. On each commissioned project, we must ask ourselves: Is the message truthful? Is the service beneficial? Is the product useful, well made, and produced in a sustainable way? We also shape our careers through our choice of clients. Some designers consciously shift their activities away from for-profit clients and into the not-for-profit realm, into activism and cause-related marketing. Many designers have taken the leap to developing their own, noncommissioned projects. Design entrepreneurs working at a small scale have more latitude to explore new business models and practices.

THE GLOBALIZATION OF TRADE
Many designers work with multinational corporations, either as an outside consultant or as an in-house employee. In most global businesses, raw materials come from one part of the world, manufacturing happens in another place, and final sales are made somewhere else. In so doing, multinationals spread capitalism. They influence governments and have significant impact on local cultures. Unfortunately, their activities can lead to economic imbalances, and can impact labor conditions, human rights, and environmental practices, particularly in developing countries. the designer’s role

Design is a problem-solving process and the world today has so many problems. Designers need to play a larger role—not just responding but initiating. We need to bring our personal beliefs and professional activities into alignment. Through our work, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to put our system of basic values into action—to model the behavior that we want to see in the world. In tackling complex issues, we need to be aware of larger contexts and to reach out to other professionals. In many instances, the scale of the challenge will move us beyond our training. We need to partner with experts in many other disciplines— economists, anthropologists, biologists, political scientists, and sociologists, to name just a few. To these collaborations we bring humanist roots, historical perspective, cross-cultural awareness, critical thinking, project leadership, and a holistic approach. We must also be actively involved in the political process to reshape institutions and reset priorities. Design is a powerful tool for shaping the world and how we live in it. Ethical design is our way to contribute to the betterment of all and to ensure abundance, diversity, and health to future generations.

FURTHER READING
There are many ongoing conversations taking place in the design community concerning ethics and social responsibility. As an introduction, you may want to pick up one of these paperbacks:

• Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility
Forty essays about the role of designers in social and political change; edited by Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne; published by Watson-Guptill, 2003
• Design Issues: How Graphic Design Informs Society
A collection of articles on many different topics; edited by DK Holland; co-published by Communication Arts and Allworth Press, 2002
• Looking Closer 4: Critical Writings on Graphic Design
Essays on a wide range of issues related to social responsibility and design ethics; edited by Michael Bierut, William Drenttel, and Steven Heller; published by Allworth Press, 2002