Where do we draw the line?

Sparked by some of our discussion in class, one of the things I was considering we as designers may have a difficult time with is the balance of exploitation and what sells. Where do we draw the line? This is not just a religious question, or even just a moral question, but when do we decide we have taken something too far or sold out.

To build an affective design and something that will make an impact you want the affect to be seen on a large group of people. That means at times doing your research as to what is on peoples mind, what’s trendy, or even how the human mind works. Understanding social norms and the way we operate as a culture is even scarier when it comes to exploitation of others for money or popularity.

We can put this question to the media (journalists and news broadcasts) pretty easily because they operate on the concept of exploiting “the news.” Anything and everything that will get the general public’s attention gets to make headlines in today’s world. No sensor, no care, just out, out, out, and faster than ever. Even the thought, that the media is a sellout is slightly humorous because quintessentially that is exactly what they are. That’s what’s expected of them, they will give us everything, all the info, even they exciting bits, because that is what we want to see.

Does that leave the question of selling out on the general public then or do the media get to carry that trophy around with them. I feel like people are afraid of giving any real responsibility to the media these days but is the general public a better person to place that responsibility?

Back to design though, what does this all imply for a designer? Well we work in information and more importantly we work in communication. Communication by definition is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs. So, we have a voice and a loud voice gets heard while a quiet voice doesn’t. Is facebook a success because it is so popular, or is it a success because it is very well designed and programmed. Has it been a good thing for our society? Is it beneficial to have social networking like facebook so available? Is exploiting people’s desires to be connected and feel important in there society wrong or just smart…? Is natural separation between classes and people types made and or enhanced through a medium such as myspace or facebook?

If I went to work designing pop-up advertisements for Viagra I could probably make some decent money. I could probably get my work noticed by a large number of people too. That’s maybe a bit drastic a comparison but my point society actually does look down on exploiting things whether or not they in turn support the exploitation. I don’t think there is an easy answer to the question though important nonetheless, ignoring it or acting like what we say and do doesn’t matter is a copout, as designers it is not just a copout its completely contrary to what we do.