Design Guilt

04.15.2009

A question left unanswered in my design education has been nagging me lately. I've spent years thinking about design projects, trends, gestalt, and clients I'd love to work with. I've examined the subtleties of type and the mood of color. I have spent years creating. But when should I not create? When and how do I choose who I will work for? Is there such a thing as design guilt?

I once designed a brand package and a few marketing materials for an attorney in another state (this was at my past position). The project was simple enough but the client's philosophy and practice conflicted with a few of my own basic beliefs. I did the work anyway under the pretense that my perception was inaccurate and that the firm indeed sought to defend the defenseless. After all, I had never spoken to the company directly. l regret that. My assumptions proved accurate and my work now profits a law philosophy my personal ethics disagree with.

In a world full of free thought, ideas will eventually conflict with one another. There is a difference in projects you aren't interested in and projects that cross your personal boundaries. It's hard to define when to say no. And in some cases no is not an option. I was fortunate to work for an employer who shared a lot of my personal ethics. Since I'm now self-employed, these are questions I have to address personally. It's easy to pass on personally objectionable work when your hopper is full ... but when you get hungry for work, what then?

Design has always been closely tied to my personality. I find it difficult to remove myself from design and often don't stop working even when the sketchbook is closed and the computer is put to bed. I dream about project solutions and invest more than time into each project. Being so tied personally to my work ... devoting myself to a product or service I wasn't comfortable with would inherently decay my own personal integrity.

Since I began my design career I have turned down about 5 different projects based on personal objection. These clients were all understanding and respected my hesitancy to involve myself with something I couldn't personally devote myself to. Even when the design of those projects would have been extremely fulfilling and profitable, avoiding guilt and the decay of my own standards means more.

Milton Glaser's article in Metropolis magazine, The Road To Hell, describes the broader consequences of designing without any ethical parameters. I would encourage any designer to set boundaries and stick to them.

So I ask, who would you not work for?