Designers, organizations, and ethics
Examples of mediation in ethical UX practice
3 min readSep 2, 2019
I read Gray and Chivukula’s work on Ethical Mediation in UX Practice and I thought I’d share the insights in their research.
The key idea is mediation; researchers frame ethical decision-making as an interplay among three mediators — individual practices, organizational practices, and applied ethics. They argue that ethics is practice-led, that designers develop their ethical perspectives as they encounter various work situations. Although preliminary, their case studies with three design professionals illustrate some of the dynamics among mediators.
The three mediators
A designer’s work is subject to three sets of knowledge and practices:
- Designer’s individual practice — This refers to the experience and personal commitments of the designer.
- Organizational practices — This refers to the structure and purpose of the organization that dictate the design process.
- Applied ethics — This refers to knowledge accumulated through formal and informal education or participation in professional communities.
