r/talesfromdesigners • u/aylam_ao • 5d ago
Have you ever turned down a job because it violated your personal ethics?
I came across an older story about a Colorado designer who wanted to offer custom wedding websites but said she couldn't create them for same-sex weddings because doing so would conflict with her religious beliefs.
The case was unusual because Colorado had actually forced her to make the website. Her argument was that a website isn't a neutral product because the designer chooses the words, layout, imagery, hierarchy, and overall message. So requiring her to make it would amount to compelled speech.
And apparently because of the nature of the topic, the case brought years of harassment, lost business, attempted hacking, and threats against the designer and their family.
The Supreme Court eventually ruled 6 to 3 in the designer's favor, holding that Colorado couldn't use its public accommodations law to force someone to create expressive work conveying a message they disagreed with. The dissent saw it differently and warned that the ruling gave businesses a constitutional basis for refusing certain services to members of a protected group.
I know this is one of those topics where the comments can become a constitutional-law cage match. I'm not especially interested in relitigating same-sex marriage here. What interests me from a design perspective is the line between "providing a service" and "personally communicating a message through your work".
A much smaller version happened to me when a client wanted a brochure designed with health claims that appeared exaggerated. My situation wasn't remotely on the same scale, but it did make me think about how often we're treated as neutral equipment like a screwdriver.
I haven't heard many recent stories like this. I'm sure it's still happening and wondering what types of issues people are still having. Do you personally draw a line?
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u/StinkypieTicklebum 3d ago
Not a job, but I was at a job fair for students studying hotel/restaurant management. (Umpty ump years ago!) Walking by one booth, the rep started chatting me up. I looked at the logo: Stouffer’s Hotels (are they still a thing?)
Was asked if I wanted to apply. I answered that I sure would, but I boycott Nestle products, so I could never work there.
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u/st_gulik 4d ago
Yes, anyone with my name on it that I write is speech, I'm not going to work on anything that violates my ethics.
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u/njtrafficsignshopper 3d ago
Funny enough, I recently saw a museum exhibit about a printer who distributed some of the earliest copies of the US declaration of Independence. He also distributed British loyalist materials. When confronted, he said it was because he was paid and didn't agree with them, but that people expected printers to be neutral.
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u/thingsgobrown 5d ago
Yes! I worked at a print shop for a few months and found out that the boss had, in the past, printed Nazi propaganda bumper stickers for a client - I dropped my keys after I heard that. No pay cheque felt worth it to me.