Design is not a cake.
Working ethically doesn’t look the same in every industry, and it doesn’t mean doing whatever you want.

When I argue that designers should understand the political impact of their work, a common reaction is, “Well, my worldview says racism/homophobia/sexism/my gun fetish is good. So there.” Sometimes this response is couched as a question by a sentient fedora earning its living playing professional Devil’s advocate on the internet.
The particular strawman of a baker who refuses to make a cake for a same-sex wedding looks good but is hollow—like those styrofoam cakes gathering dust in your local bakery’s window. Bakeries are public accommodations and subject to non-discrimination laws.
Designers shouldn’t discriminate on the basis of protected classes either, bee-tee-dubs, which is different from refusing to do work you find unethical. If I was asked to design a wedding invitation with a Confederate flag motif, I could rightly tell those shitheads to get fucked because dirtbag racists aren’t a protected class. That might change under the current administration, in which case I would still tell racists to get fucked and either get a new job or pay the “mean to hateful dipshits” fine. (Hey, sometimes doing what you believe is right comes with consequences. Go figure.)

The biggest difference between design and the example of a baker who finds gay relationships icky is the main point of my original article (you may have missed it right at the top of the page):
Designers can’t separate their work from politics because both politics and design are about creating systems that affect people’s lives, hopefully for the better.
Cake is very important to me personally, but unlike design, it doesn’t have a material impact on people’s lives or ability to perpetuate/stem societal dynamics.

But say the Kim Davis of cakes did take my advice and considered the impact of their work on the world. Their refusal to do their job only deprives two people of the little slice of happiness delicious cake provides. It’s not like cake is what makes gay people get married. (I’d be up to my ass in husbands if that’s all it took, and I mean that like it sounds.) A baker is not as integral to a wedding as designers are to a product or service. Besides violating the law, the only real difference our hypothetical baker is making in the world is perpetuating shitty treatment of already marginalized people.
Back to a relevant example. If you’re the Kim Davis of design, do I want you to follow my advice? I’d rather you quit design and get into baking; but if you’re going to keep at it, please do consider the political implications of your work. When you don’t redefine humanity to exclude people different from you, acknowledging the human impact of your design decisions will result in less destructive, more ethical designs.

If I can inspire socially regressive designers to keep the lid on the garbage fire that is their side of history, it’s gravy; but I’m much more interested in reaching designers who haven’t considered the political ramifications of their work. Designers who maybe aren’t particularly fond of the -isms; or aren’t keen on contributing to work that excludes, manipulates, or hurts people; but haven’t thought about the interplay of design and social issues.
Our design choices affect people’s lives. Those decisions are political and should be made with the full awareness of the designer. If that seems controversial to you, ask yourself why examining the human impact of your design work is a threat to your worldview.

