Participatory decision making mechanism in the process of determining ethical codes in graphic design education

Abstract

This research was designed as an attempt to raise awareness of professional ethics among graphic design students. To this end, using participatory decision making mechanisms, a session with first year students was organised as part of the professional ethics course. In this session, ethical codes to be followed in the design school were discussed and defined by students and teachers. Firstly, a 'spider map' was drawn to identify the main themes and how they relate to each other, and then ethical codes were defined based on these themes. The aim of the study is that the students' knowledge and decisions from this session will guide them in their classes, projects and daily design practice when they are faced with similar situations. It is hoped that they will take concrete steps to internalise these codes through their role as decision-makers in determining ethical behaviour. The results of the study will be published as an ethical statement for the students of the Graphic Arts Department of Balikesir University, which will be reviewed and updated annually through discussions with new students. In addition, this statement can be seen as a modest initiative to provide guidance to other design students who face similar ethical dilemmas in dealing with ethical issues in design schools.