Every product decision is a value judgment. So let’s make them with eyes open.

Designers influence how people access information, connect with others, spend their money, and make decisions. That kind of influence carries weight—whether we acknowledge it or not.

We’ve all seen what happens when products are built without ethical foresight: biased algorithms, dark patterns, surveillance creep, and exclusion masked as edge-case neglect. These aren’t unfortunate byproducts. They’re predictable results of ignoring how power, privilege, and responsibility play out in design.

This work begins by recognizing that we always bring values into the room. The question is whether we do so intentionally.

Ethics by Design asks us to consider:

• Who are we designing for—and who gets left out?

• What assumptions are baked into our defaults?

• What downstream consequences might arise?

It’s not about perfection. It’s about awareness. Awareness leads to choice. And choice is the designer’s true superpower.