This book offers an inquiry into the ethics of ‘human needs capture’ for design purposes by drawing upon ethical theories and narratives.
Designers have historically relied upon the satisfaction of human needs as a moral justification for their profession. This volume offers an alternative critique to challenge this perspective, arguing that seeking to satisfy needs doesn't offer sufficient moral justification on its own. It presents an extensive ethical analysis of the notion of need and develops a thought-provoking case for a plural reconceptualisation of the notion of ‘need’ as user-based knowledge about product and service improvement opportunities. It does by drawing upon a range of ethical approaches including Soran Reader’s needs ethics, classical utilitarianism, Robert Nozick’s libertarian philosophy, and John Rawls’ theory of justice. The book goes on to link these approaches to concepts guiding design such human-centred design, collaborative design, and end user innovation. Written as a dialogue between a designer and his consciousness, the book underlines the deliberative nature of applied design ethics, and also highlights how consciousness challenges designers to solve their moral dilemmas. This innovative format enhances readers’ engagement and invites them to become an intimate part of the ‘discussion’.
This book will be of interest to students and academics studying product design, industrial design, interaction design, user experience design, design ethics, and sustainable development.
Introduction
1. A need thief
1.1 Designer and his Conscience
1.2 Precious needs
1.3 Taxonomy of needs
1.4 ‘Need’ in designers’ vocabulary
1.5 Summary
2. Helping to exist
2.1 Ethical practice
2.2 Fluid normal
2.3 Products in need
2.4 Respect for the prevailing
2.5 Summary of the needs-based ethics
3. Design ethical calculus
3.1 Shallow and resilient
3.2 Happiness multiplied a thousand times
3.3 Chain of probabilities
3.4 In a moral sandbox
3.5 Wrapping up utilitarian insights
4. Copyrighting needs
4.1 Towards a market of needs
4.2 MyNeeds.com
4.3 Rich in needs
4.4 Illusory individualism
4.5 Summary of needs trading elaborations
5. Fairness through design
5.1 Helping the taxman
5.2 Consume to compensate!
5.3 Ridiculing preference hierarchies
5.4 Summarising fairness through design
6. Tools of decontextualisation
6.1 Entering from the middle
6.2 Decolonial design criticism
6.3 Together with respect
6.4 Capabilities dialogue summarised
7. Designer’s duty
7.1 Autonomous reason
7.2 Universal law failing
7.3 And attempts to fix it
7.4 Right to contribute
7.5 Summary of needs and duty ethics
8. More than one narrative
8.1 Good before right
8.2 Designers’ narratives
8.3 Designers’ fixations
8.4 Externalised ethics
8.5 Summary of virtue ethics
9. User needs refinery
9.1 Possessing needs
9.2 Captured by users’ needs
9.3 Opportunities and dogmas
9.4 Yes or no?
Biography
Turkka Keinonen is Professor of design at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Finland. He has worked for Finnish design consultancies, been a principal research scientist at the Nokia Research Center, and worked as Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore. He has published more than 100 articles, conference papers, and patents on human-centred design, concept design, and design strategy. His recent research deals with ethics of human-centred design.
