Final Reflection Essay

Before taking this class, my knowledge of design ethics was definitely limited. I had not ever really taken a class which talked about these topics and this was definitely one of the main reasons as to why I was inspired to look into this class, along with the many good reviews which I had heard of. I think specifically, I was definitely not as aware of the way in which companies will use advertisements to benefit themselves, or to make others feel a specific way. After studying this I realized how intentional every aspect of design and promotion can be, and the ways in which we as consumers can further understand what we are supporting.

To elaborate on this idea, the task which we did in class that I felt best helped me realize the significance of advertisement was when we reviewed the concept of ruinous empathy. I think that this particularly struck me because it revealed how so many people are looking at things entirely wrong. I think that there is a lot that I am not fully aware of given how privileged and lucky I am, and hearing of how other reacted to individuals such as Nike was definitely a check for me, and made me think of how I interact with people despite if my intentions are good. In this case, I learned how Nike may have had good intentions, but the fact of how they represented the contract they provided is actually a brand enhancer as well as seen as pitiful, taking away from the achievements the individual has accomplished themselves.

In the future, just as I mentioned before, I want to be more aware of how I perceive advertisements as well as my own thought process. In this way I think the concept of ruinous empathy can begin to be diminished and I can potentially see through what a company is actually trying to accomplish with the message that is being sent out. All In all, I really appreciated taking a class where we were able to communicate and discuss ethical issues with our classmates as I havent experienced a class similar to this in that way yet. I also appreciated the diversity in terms of ethical issues that were discussed and I really think it helped me personally to have a stronger and broader understanding of aspects that I can look at when determining the ethical strength of a product or team.