New public course: ‘Ethics in Design’

I’ve spent a lot of time training teams in responsible and ethical innovation, but it’s always been a solo endeavour. So I’m happy to announce something new. I’m partnering with Ariel Guersenzvaig on a new online, public course called Ethics in Design.

The course is split over three weeks, featuring four 90-minute discussion-led sessions. Between sessions you’ll reflect on what we covered, apply it in your work, and read a few short pieces about the ideas we’ll review next. So while we’re not offering the in-depth theory of an academic course, it’ll be a more considered, reflective environment than a typical one-day workshop.

My co-instructor Ariel is a professor of design at Elisava, and author of The Goods of Design, one of the few ethics books I recommend to switched-on practitioners. Ariel has a extensive teaching and academic experience but also has a superb design and UX background himself.

So we’re aiming for the best of both worlds, discussing important real-world design and tech issues while backing up the learning with deep expertise and academic pedigree. We’re also hoping our differing perspectives as instructors will highlight the complexities of ethical design, so you can weigh up and come to your own conclusions.

Here’s a snippet from the description.

‘In this 3-week training, you will learn how to turn your best intentions into grounded, robust methods for acting more ethically and responsibly. Two experienced instructors will guide you beyond moral hunches towards a more profound understanding of ethical design.’

Hosted by the folks at Service Design College, this will be suitable for anyone in a design-related role, including product, UX, and UI designers, DesignOps folks, researchers, and managers.

The course starts on Tue 23 May and sign-ups are open now, starting at $295. It’s probably the only public training I’ll be running for a while, so grab a ticket while you can.