Mikal Hallstrup of Designit.dk frames the dilemmas faced by designers, particularly when their product is intended for an entirely different culture or geography. Here's a snippet:
Prabhu Kandachar, associate professor at TUDelft, told a story that illustrates this ethical dilemma perfectly. A company developed an affordable ultra-sound scanner for the Indian market. It was meant to improve pregnancy healthcare and pregnant women's quality of life. But the company soon discovered that the scanners were being used for gender selection. How should the company deal with this? Stop designing? Seek answers from the ethical experts? Keep designing, learning and trying to solve something that seems unsolvable? Or proactively attempt to design new behaviour patterns and value sets in the country so the product is used as intended? That's according to a western value set, at least. As a designer, I think the way forward is focusing on context. Address and understand the underlying contradictions - whether they be cultural, economic or social - and make the solution fit. And most importantly, remember that policies and visions alone won't bring tangible differences to users' everyday lives - to achieve this, we need well-designed products and services. What do you think is the responsibility of the designer? What is the role of ethics in product design? Retrieved from coree77.com on 18/3/2013
18 Comments
Nathan
17/3/2013 11:54:47 am
1. I think that the responsibility of the designer is to make sure that he/she fulfils the need of the clients and also make sure that there is no errors in the product. The product must be used for its intended use otherwise it is pointless in using the specific product. The ethical issue would be about knowing if it would be the right thing to do. Terminating a child because on personal preference would probably not be ethically
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Hamish
31/7/2013 08:51:24 am
I think that the responsibility of the designer is to make sure that he/she fulfils the need of the clients and also make sure that there is no errors in the product. The product must be used for its intended use otherwise it is pointless in using the specific product. The ethical issue would be about knowing if it would be the right thing to do. Terminating a child because on personal preference would probably not be ethically
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Yianni
31/7/2013 08:52:24 am
What do you think is the responsibility of the designer? The designer has no responsibility to how the design is used. What is the role of ethics in product design? Ethics in product design is that designs must be produced in a way that they may not be used in ways they are not intended.
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troy
31/7/2013 08:56:06 am
the designer doesn't have much responsibility for what the product is used for once bought and produced. If the customer wants to use it for a reason you are not supportive with then your product wont be produced and it is your call.
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Masterful_101
31/7/2013 08:58:38 am
I think that the accountability of the designer is to make certain that he/she fulfils the important needs of the clients and also make sure that there are no boo-boos in the merchandise. The product necessity is cast-off for its envisioned use otherwise it is pointless in using the specific product. The ethical issue would be about perceptive if it would be the right thing to do. Dismissing a child because of private fondness would undoubtedly not be ethically accurate.
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Nataly
31/7/2013 08:59:25 am
the responsibility of the designer is to successfully give the client what they want. the role of ethics is to understand that the abortion of a child is something that people will decide on their own.
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Hamish
31/7/2013 09:00:28 am
Having an abortion is not an ethical decision on the part of the parents, they should be responsible for their actions.
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Dale
31/7/2013 09:03:00 am
The designer had the right intensions in genuinely trying to help people. I don't think the moral and ethical issues were even considered in the design process. Saying this, I don't think its entirely up to the designer to consider all the ethical issues faced as a result of the product. Considering the designer had genuinely good intensions, he doesn't have a major responsibility in trying to change the way the product is used.
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Jake
31/7/2013 09:03:21 am
The responsibility of the designer isn't to worry about what the product will be used for, their job is just to design the product for the client. The role of ethics is that people make their own choices in life, and it's their decision if they wish to abort.
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Andrew
31/7/2013 09:03:31 am
Completing an abortion based on information received through this machine, in my eyes isn't the designers problem or fault it is purely those who operate the machinery. The only way to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future is to place laws on it intended use.
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Jacob
23/2/2015 08:12:59 am
The designer had the right intensions in genuinely trying to help people. I don't think the moral and ethical issues were even considered in the design process. Saying this, I don't think its entirely up to the designer to consider all the ethical issues faced as a result of the product. Considering the designer had genuinely good intensions, he doesn't have a major responsibility in trying to change the way the product is used.
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Ben
23/2/2015 08:14:12 am
The company should proactively attempt to design new behaviour patterns and value sets in the country so the product is used as intended? That's according to a western value set, at least. In order to reduce the risk of aborting babies
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space cowboy aaron
23/2/2015 08:20:10 am
Unfortunately, designs could potentially suffer the same consequenses(although tthis happen either way, an invention intended for something and someone finds a better use for it). Designers shouldn't have to hold the responsibility to make sure their product is not abused, while they should take every precaution to avoid it, the shouldn't be responsible since it is the people using it that are abusing it.
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Melvin
23/2/2015 08:20:45 am
the designers purpose was to design a the ultrasound which was successful, it's shouldn't be the designers problem if they want to use the ultrasound to gender select. But it would be considered "gender selection" as a problem.
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coxxyyy
23/2/2015 08:21:13 am
Designers shouldn't have to hold the responsibility to make sure their product is not abused, while they should take every precaution to avoid it, the shouldn't be responsible since it is the people using it that are abusing it.
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isaac
23/2/2015 08:30:09 am
I personally think that the designers need to be aware of what their design could be used for i.e. using this technology to gender select and kill unwanted genders
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Dylan
23/2/2015 08:36:36 am
The designer should not have to hold the responsibility or pressure of somebody using there product for aborting babies if they are not (the right gender) it is completely the parents decision on if they keep the child or not
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Keanan
23/2/2015 08:43:46 am
The designers responsibility should be to fulfill a clients needs which has been accomplished with the successful ultrasound product, it is not necessarily the designers responsibility that the product is being used by the client for other things (gender selection) rather than its original purpose (improving pregnancy healthcare and pregnant women's quality of life). Its the responsibility of the client on whether they use it, or abuse it.
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