Approaches and Exemplars
The concept of social responsibility, the notion that an individual, group of individuals or organisations has responsibility to society, has been around as long as humanity. The benefit of such responsibility to society is described by Darwin, who argued that:
“Although a high standard of morality gives but a slight or no advantage to each individual man and his children over the other men of the same tribe...an advancement in the standard of morality will certainly give an immense advantage to one tribe over another (and therefore those within it)”.
Darwin, The Descent of Man (1871)
Although Darwin is talking in terms of competition rather than altruism or empathy, his argument is clear. Namely, those societies made up of individuals that accept inclusive, collective goals and responsibilities are more likely to be prosperous and self-sustaining.
The idea that an individual designer or design organisation has responsibility to society is once again popular. This account, addressed by many designers and critics, was crucially defined by Papanek, who argued alongside contemporaries, such as Buckminster Fuller and EF Schumacher, that:
"Design has become the most powerful tool with which man shapes his tools and environments (and, by extension, society and himself)”.
Papanek (1971)
Given the enormous impact of design, Papanek addressed the conscience of the designer and argued that they should seek to make a positive contribution to society and the environment by focusing on six core themes:
- Design for the third world
- Design for the elderly and disabled (design for minorities)
- Design for medicine, surgery, dentistry and hospital equipment (health)
- Design for experimental research
- Design for sustaining human life under marginal conditions, survival systems/hostile environments
- Design for breakthrough concepts
Papanek also argued that other kinds of design consumed resources in pursuit of financial profit and had a negative impact on both society and environment. Consequently those designers who engaged with the market should contribute either 1/10 of their time or 1/10 of their income to socially responsible projects while continuing with their jobs.
More recent notions of responsible design are less dismissive of the market and economic imperatives. Morelli argues;
"The time has come to review Papanek... from a new perspective, which reduces the distance between market-based and socially oriented initiatives".
Morelli (2007)
The addition of economics to the social and environmental imperatives of Papanek provides ‘a triple bottom line’ for considering design proposals. This equates to a basic definition of sustainability; design approaches that consider social, environmental and economic impacts.
Adams, W.M (2006), DARC (2009)
Articulation of practices in pursuit of this agenda has generated a number of design aims and approaches. Understanding these approaches is useful when deciding how to deliver design that offers social innovation but is sustainable in terms of social impact and financial viability.