For working designers, building an “ethical” design practice often comes down to choosing the right clients. The party line is obvious enough: Don’t work for cigarette companies or anyone you don’t agree with. Done!
But design work has very real outcomes, and we had a hunch that there’s more nuance to the notion of ethics and clients than simply turning down a Joe Camel redesign. So we reached out to three forward-thinking studios to ask how they balance ethics and output: Lyon & Lyon, a U.K.-based agency known for its packaging work, and its desire to make packaging obsolete; Partner & Partners, a worker-owned design studio in Brooklyn focused on clients that promote social, economic, and environmental justice; and Delcan & Co., Pablo Delcan’s studio known for incisive political visualizations, as well as art and editorial work beyond.
Of course, ethics are a highly subjective—and highly personal—realm. What follows are opinions and distilled advice, but in them, you just might find elements that resonate as you navigate credos, capitalism, and cash flow.
Lesson 1: Draw your line in the sand
At Lyon & Lyon, a single word can kill a project. Given the agency’s focus on sustainability, when disposable entered a brief for a new baby product, the agency pulled the plug. It’s critical to know your boundaries and when they are being crossed. Moreover, as cofounder Benny Lyon says, “Challenge the client [at the outset]. Ask them what their ethics are, what the ethics of the brand are. Just be bold at that point.”
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