i'm interested in the ethical implications of the work you did. comment here on the following questions:
how did you feel when you were assigned the subject matter?
why did you do the work?
did you ever consider not doing the work, or the ramifications of refusing it?
how would you respond in a professional setting to this type of project?
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when i first heard that i had to be pro wal-mart, i was automatically upset. "why would you do this to me tyler!? WHY!?" i had an extremely difficult time trying to find a way where i could enjoy working as a positive person in favor of wal-mart. i thought to myself "there is no way in hell i could ever do this project, tyler's crazy...he did this on purpose....." i almost gave in to some of the class discussion about not doing the project outright because of our ethical beliefs. but toward the end (bad timing of course) i figured out if i turned the project around to show that even wal-mart (who is on par with disney as a giant evil empire) will donate more than our own government in times of natural tragedy, i would feel more positive about this. i ended up doing the work to get the grade for the class (of course) because i knew that if i said that there was no way on god's green earth that i would ever do this project, i would receive an F for the assignment, and i can't really have that when it's the last few weeks of school and i'm trying to grad-e-ate. i suppose in a professional setting, i would have to sit down with my boss and tell him/her my personal feelings and ethical beliefs about designing for a company that i had qualms with, but it would be very calm and collected so that hopefully, they could understand and give me a different assignment. in a perfect world...that would be cool.
When I was assigned the subject matter, at first I thought it was going to be okay. But, after further discussion of what the project was about, I felt as if I was being forced to use design as a weapon. I ended up doing the work because I received clarity on the purpose of the content (not to bash Wal-Mart, but to simply illuminate facts). In the end, I presented a case that could be received as neutral, but there's a clear level of sarcasm. I don't feel as if these are my views. I'm one of those people who is totally willing to serve under someone else's dictation–possibly a complex that I have. I guess I could argue that I did it to see if I could ever take a stance against Wal-Mart. I wasn't influenced in the end at all, but I found out that I would never like to use this mode of communication again.
The ramifications of refusing it are getting fired (but I doubt it), or a deduction in the grade. Everyone is willing to compromise in my opinion.
I would state my values and ask if there's anyone else who could work on that particular project. I might also state that I would do it, but I wouldn't be able to clearly communicate that individual's position on the subject, due to a lack of passion. I wouldn't quit my job (everyone is entitled to their own opinion).
I guess you could state that I do understand that Wal-Mart does a lot of crazy things to keep on top. That's their business, though, and who am I to run their company?
how did you feel when you were assigned the subject matter?
I felt conflicted. I didn't feel comfortable publicly publishing a 30-second document advocating something that I do not agree with, but I didn't want to get a bad grade.
why did you do the work?
I can't afford not to.
did you ever consider not doing the work, or the ramifications of refusing it?
No, because I can't afford a low grade. I did, however, attempt to approach the video by making it "too good to be true", in a sense, where I would technically be fulfilling the assignment's adjectives by designing true and 'positive' information about the corporation, but would hopefully cause the viewer to really think about it and let the reality of the words sink in. In the end, it was too obvious and sarcastic, and I didn't have enough time to try it another way.
how would you respond in a professional setting to this type of project?
Honestly, it really depended on my situation. If I were in a position where I couldn't refuse because of something like struggling with finances, then unfortunately I would just have to "grin and bear" it. It's unrealistic of me to think that I would be able to quit a job because of something I disagree with if I'm already in a bind with something else. If it were something where I knew I'd be able to get another job quickly, then maybe that would be a different story. Then again, would I really work for an organization that would promote ideas that I'm against to begin with?
ad for how i felt when receiving this assignment, i was pretty acceptable of it compared to the rest of my classmates. i seemed to notice a trend of subjects being given to students who are often opposed to what they might have to defend. As for me, it was pretty obvious that this subject was something i strongly supported, so it went very smooth for me. I wanted to do this assignment, but it was almost an overwhelming feeling. So many comments came flooding into my head, i didnt know what direction to take. The biggest concern was limiting my content. Everything felt like such a good fact to put in the piece, but what it ended with was cutting out all my research it felt like just so i wouldnt exceed the time given.
In a professional setting i think that i could have still taken this project on well. I left the viewer with their own opinions, but only putting in information that would raise an eyebrow. Facts are much more of the professional setting, as well as carry much more impact.
it's no secret i drive a truck. it's not the most ethical choice of vehicle, but i use it and i love it, and it's a dodge. so when i was assigned anti-ford i had no hesitation about making something anti-ford. my experience with fords (my mom's explorers) were never pleasant, and i've all ways been a bit against ford, just don't like they way the look, feel etc. thus i was happy to do my 30 sec on something i rather agreed with.
i looked up the provided links and one caught my eye because it had to do with ford's part in world war II, and since i am interested in the study of the time period it was an easy fit for me to do my work, and i was happy to do it for an anti-ford since i believe it's pretty wide spread that nazi=bad, nazi=enemy, ford=american made, ford=70% of enemy transportation, it blew my mind.
i never thought about not doing the work i set out to do. i did think about the ramifications, but having free speech, and my subject being complete fact i felt completely safe doing so, and a bit of moral obligation to stick with it even if something bad came of it.
i worked with something i rather agreed with, something i had no problems with, so in a professional setting i would have no hesitation to do something in the same way. now if it was something i felt morally against, i would rather starve than produce something i had a problem with. i may be an inexperienced student with no mortgage to pay, or other obligations for an income right now, but i know i'm stubborn and i just don't think i could be impartial when it came to something large and political that i was against doing. i am rather open minded so i don't see this coming up in my career, but if it did i would respond accordingly to my personal moral code.
Initially I was upset with the subject and stance I was given. But that was only due to the fact that I had no clue who the company was, and someone mentioned it was a company that did agricultural products. I was thinking I would have to advocate against a "green" company. When I found out what Monsanto actually is, my attitude toward accepting the project changed drastically, and I was very glad to have been given the particular company and "con" stance. It felt great being able to take a stance that I felt some type of a personal connection too, and I was happy to be able to get out a message that I agreed with. I never considered not doing this project. In fact, I'm really glad I got to do it. However, because of the position that it put Callie in (having to advocate for the company), I very much thought about what I would've done if I had been given the project of being "pro" Monsanto. I wouldn't be able to do the project knowing what I know about the company. I think it's pretty obvious from some of my posts and well as through conversation, that I feel like the content or social significance of a project is more important that whether or not something is just "designed well". It's not that I would deny a project that I didn't necessarily feel any positive position on, but I would have to refuse a project that I specifically felt a strongly negative position on. If I was given this project of advocating against Monsanto in a professional setting, I'd be perfectly fine with doing it. If I was given the task of advocating FOR Monsanto however, I would have to refuse on the grounds of my own ethical beliefs. If the employer told me I absolutely had to do the project or it would be grounds for dismissal, I'd be spending the next few weeks searching the "want ads."
When I was assigned to ‘pro altria’ my first reaction was, who is altria? I had no idea who they were or what they stand for. When moving into research mode i was only reading positive things about the company. Therefore I was ok about working with advocating their positive qualities of their company. Then I decided I wanted an overview of the whole company to understand everything I could about them. After finding out the negatives, my viewpoint changed slightly. Yet I did not consider not doing the work, I guess I took it as a problem and I need to solve it. My partner and I needed to solve it, putting each piece together to make a whole statement. In doing this I feel the viewer then makes up his or her own mind.
I ultimately did the work because I was assigned to it. I think that assigned to something in a classroom setting is different than a professional setting. As a student its all about learning and exploration. But as a professional it more of systematic way of producing pieces. I would most likely respond in a similar manor in a professional setting. I was not morally against what they as a company were doing to better the community. Since I was not morally against my subject matter I did not consider not doing it.
i felt like i didn't really want to get into the subject of shell oil and their exploits, mainly because i knew it would be about pollution, and how they treat the people of third world countries in relation to what they provide us. but those things are plastered all over the internet and in the media, and i tend to tune it out, because personally i believe in self-preservation, and the people should have the right to save themselves, rebel themselves, without my conflicting interests guiding them to a solution. i believe we can't really relate to the hardships many of the victims of shell oil go through each day, so why make judgments and get all my facts from the internet? we can probably never get the whole truth from these events, and when the situation is broken down into statistics, sure the numbers speak loudly, but we aren't numbers, there is more to it than that. the work i did was to fulfill the assignment, yes i was shocked by the research i read on Shell, but for the most part, it is a cycle repeated throughout history of the more powerful overwhelming the less. I didn't feel like I was advocating something I didn't care about, because the information was already there, i just presented it in a different way. I guess using my skills as a designer for something i have little to no concern over is unethical, but who's to say it even works on the public? The chances of finding my video seems less slim to the overall plethora of videos on youtube, unless you are looking for it. I never really considered not doing the assignment, because I imagine i will be assigned things in the future in my professional life that i won't particularly like, thats just the way life is. I feel the real issues were those who faced promoting such corporations like Shell, just because they are trying to go green, which is in vogue right now. Shell is using this movement to clean their image, and push the past back to the shadows of their closet. The test of doing this project in a professional setting wouldn't be at all different. I would of changed things formally, maybe hire a camera man, director, get a new media designer who actually knows how to use better programs than flash, but in retrospect, the facts are facts, you will take them or leave them, all the other elements (blood, oil, loud voices, preaching) just tend to cloud the issues, that the viewer should decide.
How did you feel when you were assigned the subject matter?
I was glad that I didn't have to do a con. It's so easy to pick one of the many things to talk about how bad shell is. It was a challenge to find information that puts them in a good light. I was struggling even on their own website! haha
From watching how other big companies try to present themselves I had a couple ideas from the start and was ready for the challenge.
Why did you do the work?
Because it was assigned to me.
My grade isn't the best in this class and skipping a project would put me at the point of no return i'm sure.
Because it was just a project I thought of it as a learning exercise and not a conflict with my morals. I did the work because this was an extreme example of how graphic design can be used.
Did you ever consider not doing the work, or the ramifications of refusing it?
No, I guess the same answer from the last question can go here as well.
How would you respond in a professional setting to this type of project?
If the project helped something that I didn't support or more importantly passionately rejected I would not do it. I suppose I could do work for something I didn't support but It would be something I would have to have a neutral stance on. No I wouldn't have done this project in a professional setting.
1. i was disappointed to be trying to justify mcdonald's behavior, but at the same time, i had a pretty good idea of why i was assigned that point of view.
2. it's a school assignment and i'm not trying to fail in the last semester of my senior year. besides it was worth taking on the project to examine the issue from the other side.
3. yeah. i considered not posting it to youtube, in particular, but i did end up putting a disclaimer on there. i felt like since i recognized why i'd been assigned that side of the project, refusing it would be hypocritical or at least reductive of the purpose of the assignment.
4. ultimately i produced the same kind of mealy-mouthed jargon-spewing half-true half-assed justifications that corporate apologists generally do. if it was in a professional setting and for some reason i absolutely couldn't lose the job, i'd try to do kind of the same thing, except make it even more lame and authoritarian and seeded with the truths that finally undermine it, the same way i did in the written analysis. i'm confident that i could do that in a way that i wouldn't get caught, so to speak.
1. I was interested in the subject that was assigned to me, because I always found American Apparel's marketing to be... well, stupid. So, looking into the company satisfied my own curiosity.
2. I did the work mainly to validate my own point of view on the subject, so that I could have grounds for my opinion.
3. No. Although, if I didn't do the work, there's already plenty of debate going about the subject.
4. I would have to consider my own viewpoint first, whether I would feel comfortable persuing it. I would then either accept or decline the work. In this case, I was already aware of some shenanigans with American Apparel, so doing the project felt ethical to me.
how did you feel when you were assigned the subject matter?
although i am a little jaded with these types of popular cultural issues, i had never worked with the tobacco industry as a subject matter, so i was interested in what i could learn. also, i was relieved that i didn't have to be for something that i didn't agree with.
why did you do the work?
because it was an assignment. i can't not do an assignment.
did you ever consider not doing the work, or the ramifications of refusing it?
no. if it were something i was completely against, i would have asked for a different subject or not done it. with many issues, i can usually see both sides.
how would you respond in a professional setting to this type of project?
i really can't imagine this type of project in a professional setting. it's a based on a personal statement, which does not usually go into other types of graphic design. with most graphic design, you are advocating for something (product, service, etc), not against it.
I was fine with the subject matter, to me it was another project. Even though I got to learn something I did not know about Exxon Oil and how they are making huge oil spills and not cleaning them up, and not even caring about anything but taking our money. I did the work because it was assigned as a school project and Im a student so that means its my job to complete the project assigned to me. I never really considered not doing it although after doing the research on the company I might have had a change of heart if was doing the pro side of it but since I was to bash them for doing wrong it was not bad. Although there were to many things to get them with. So coming up with two ideas and making them connect took a while. In a job setting I would do the job assigned and get paid for my hours and time put into the project so I could put dinner on the table at night.
(or pay my student loan back)
when i got assigned this subject, i felt like i got screwed. advocating a pro ford position is clearly not my point of view on the subject which is why i was given it. it felt like making a commercial to say "ford is sooo great because of a, b, and c." rather difficult for someone who doesn't like the idea of ad agencies.
i guess i did the work because i was really trying to "get by" on this one. my original ideas were to subvert the prescribed content and make it more personal. however this isn't really taking an objective point of view, but then again if your advocating anything i'm not sure that you really could. if i didn't do the work, i guess i'd fail, which doesn't bother me in the short run. i don't put any stock into grades because they simply don't mean anything. I do however NEED the bfa, so i did this expecting a mediocre grade since i had neither the time (behind on degree project work) or the will (couldn't believe in the content) to make this great.
If this were a professional setting, i'm not sure exactly how i'd respond. the fact is, i don't have a real moral issue with ford, it's not like i can say they support terrorists so i can't work with them. however i don't believe in the company, and i don't really believe the pro ford information i found. it really seemed inflated, and at times almost half truths. plus theres a ton of dirt on this company which was left out, leaving only the minty fresh version ford wants us to see. I guess my reaction in the real world would depend on the exact situation; where am i working, who am i working with, how long have i been there. if i was asked to do this project over the summer, i'd probably do it, as long as my boss believed strongly in this. if i had been working at the firm for a while and i had a good relationship with my boss, i'd try to talk out the ethical implications i'm concerned about, and we could decide if this is a commission we should take, or if another designer is better suited.
I really didn’t have much of a reaction to the company that I was assigned, because I didn’t know that their was anything controversial about them. I was a little scared that they might have been some giant man eating corporation or something along the lines simply because they where picked for the project.
They main reason I did this project was because I would be getting a grade on it. I was also motived cause I thought I would get to work in video again, which sadly fell thought due to some marrow carpet placed rules.
There was never I a time I thought about not doing the project cuase one that would be a grade and two cause I never felt that my morles were being bent or swaded by doing the project. I can’s agree with the things Dov’s done or how American Apparel advertise some of their products. But I didn’t have to promote those things I just had show what was good and that other companies could possibly do it too.
If I had to do a project for that company at a firm I would probably still take one the job but try to steer things back to parts of the company that I feel are good in hope of not hiding things form the public but more as a reminder to the company what make them special and worth having around.
sorry misspells
When I was handed the assignment and saw that I would be responsible for the pro side of Monsanto, I was beyond pissed. I wanted nothing to do with Monsanto and their practices. The idea of creating a video that could potentially persuade others on a topic that I don't believe in isn't something that I can do. At first, I figured I just wouldn't do it, sit around, bitch and moan and take the grade hit. Then, I realized that I really couldn't afford that kind of grade hit, plus, I would be wasting my time by doing nothing. Instead, I chose to focus less on the topic part of the assignment and more on the process part of the assignment. although, (topic wise) my final piece does disagree with Monsanto's practices (I just never state their company directly). While some were caught up in facts and statistics, I chose to learn new programs like Imovie and new techniques like stop motion animation. I think going into a design firm we would understand the type of work we would be doing by using our best judgement and looking at past work produced by the company. However, if a situation like this did arise, I would have to stand my ground. If a company can't respect my opinions and beliefs then I wouldn't want to work for them any who. Besides, I'm a person, not a number.
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