Consider this simple conundrum: is it possible to be a bad good designer or a good bad designer for that matter? If the answer is yes then which is preferable and what does this reveal about the relationship between ethics and design practice? "Good: An Introduction to Ethics in Graphic Design" seeks to answer these questions. Graphic design is in ethical flux. "Good" comes at a time of growing disenchantment with style-led design solutions and the pursuit of self-expression alone and yet vacuous design judgements are still made without any real analysis of the criteria used. The terms good and bad are repeatedly applied without qualification whilst the relationship between personal and professional ethics is far too contentious to do any more than give cursory consideration. Despite recent manifestos and themed publications on design for good graphic designers have yet to examine what such terms really mean: in a time of relativism it has been far too divisive to do so. "Good" takes philosophy as its starting point but is not a philosophy book. It seeks to marry abstract ideas with practical application, removing some of the mystique that surrounds philosophy and highlighting its relevance for us all. Designers are people. This book seeks to engage designers in a debate about their profession and in an analysis of their value and worth. The decisions we make define us, in our ethical choices we reveal who we are.

Author Biography

Lucienne Roberts studied graphic design at the Central School of Art and Design. After a brief period at The Women's Press, she established the studio sans+baum, hoping to ally a commitment to accessible and engaging design with a socially aware agenda. Roberts' new studio Lucienne Roberts started at the end of 2006, working mainly in the arts and voluntary sectors. In 2000 Roberts was a signatory of the First Things First manifesto. She has taught at Yale and the London College of Communication and was a D&AD judge in 2008. Roberts is a regular contributor to Eye magazine and Grafik.