At Plant, we see designers and developers come and go, but our principles remain the same — such as the case of product design and designers. Product design is a profession that has evolved and still evolving. However, if you must take part in it and succeed, you have to stick to some ethics. And no, it does not matter if you are a beginner or an expert, freelancer, or company employee, you must stick to ethics.

Product design ethics are there to help you fight against destructive behaviors that will lead you into an unsatisfactory position. They help make things more transparent and protect both you and your clients. Let’s take a look at some of the important product design ethics.

Understand Requirements Before You Start Designing

If there is one single practice you should take note of, it is this one — I don’t know how many times I have stressed it; it is that important. On no account should you start working without understanding requirements. I have seen people working even without a requirement in the first place. In most cases, it usually leads to a lot of revision and dissatisfaction. I have had a friend that is into web design, and a client approached him for a project with just his competitor’s site as a sample. Long story cut short, after a lot of revision, my friend had to pull out of the project.

Make sure the requirements are not only available but also straightforward, and you understand it well. From there, you can tell if you can get the job done or make recommendations. Both you and the client should come up with an agreement, to deal with future alterations to the requirement as that will impact the time and cost, and you need to be clear on how much you’ll be paid in such a case.

Avoid Conflict of Interest

Are you having a personal interest that might conflict with that of a client? Then avoid taking such jobs. Before I moved into product design, I was a freelance blogger and was hired by a blogger to help write content for his blog. He requested I disclose my blog and niche to make sure there won’t be a conflict of interest. I never really understood what it actually meant then until I was part of a team to create content for a political campaign that’s outrightly out of my political ideology.

I was struggling to get the job done without allowing my emotions to ruin the job. After that particular job, I will ask to be withdrawn from a project that conflicts of interest will set in. Believe me; you cannot be at your best in jobs, your interests go against, and when the client discovers, that’s a red flag.

One other conflict of interest is when you have two or more clients as competitors. Design ethics requires you to let them know about it, so if any of them is not comfortable, they can pull out. In fact, many clients require you to make a disclosure if you already have a competitor in your customer list to avoid conflict of interest.

Avoid Plagiarism

In a bid to cut corners, some designers avoid going through the rigorous mind exercise of creatively coming up with unique ideas. Instead of doing that, they simply copy other designers’ work. If you are one of those, then desist from such act. You can be sued for breach of copyright. If you must make use of designs that are not yours, you have to ask for permission in written format and get approval also in written format as a proof that you were allowed to make use of the material.

However, avoiding plagiarism does not mean you shouldn’t use other works as an inspiration. In fact, in most cases, you will need the inspiration to add your own twist to make them unique. When it comes to getting ideas, you can get them from Dribbble, Pinterest, Behance, and many designers community.

Be Fair in Criticism

This point is when you are opportune to criticize the designs of other designers. It is important that you know the difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism and leans toward constructive criticism. It is better you do not even examine a work if you have the inclination of criticizing the design of another designer because of what he did to you or your perception of his person.

As a way of helping each other to grow, do not only criticize; but also provide advice and suggestions, so you do not leave the person more confused. Even when given honest feedback, be subtle and avoid hurting the feelings of the designer. You might be a genius, but you have to know that not everyone is like you. Recognize this and accept the flaws of others, so correcting them will be easier for you.

Make Sure Secrets You Share are Kept as Secrets

There is no doubt that in some projects, you’ll get to learn about some secrets of the business of your clients that is not in the public domain. When these secrets are shared, make sure they remain secret and do not in any way leak it out. You should not also use them as a way to get back at them in the case of a fallout.

Believe me, as a product designer, you are not only in the business of design, you are also in the business of trust, and when you give people the reason not to trust you, you are doomed. Besides, some might even report you to relevant authorities and sue you for breach of trust, and you can get fined and sanctioned for that.

Be Moralistic in Your Design

I know you are a designer, and you feel you should do any job that comes your way. However, there are moral standards in the society you are in — stick to them. I do not know your current location and what are deemed moral or not; that’s up to you to decide. You’ll agree with me that if you involve in designing content that will be used purposely to scam someone, you are crossing the line of ethical product design, and you should avoid such.