Ethics and Values in Design: A Structured Review and Theoretical Critique

Area of Science:

• Design Studies
• Ethics
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Existing "ethics-first" design methods focus on normative dimensions and value incorporation.
• The interplay between designer agency and the strength of normative claims in design remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and classify existing ethics and values in design (E+VID) approaches and critiques.
• To analyze their positions on normative strength and designer agency.

Main Methods:

• Structured literature review of E+VID approaches and critiques.
• Classification based on normative strength and designer agency.

Main Results:

• Identified 18 distinct approaches and 13 critiques.
• Literature spans a spectrum of normative strength views.
• No approaches and only one critique represented "low" designer agency.

Conclusions:

• The neglect of "low" designer agency limits interventions in design.
• Balancing strong normative visions with corporate design limitations challenges "meaningful" ethical design.
• Future research should explore strategies for ethical design in information-rich societies.