This document summarizes a study on ethical decision making in user experience (UX) design practice. It documents three case studies of UX designers with different levels of experience and organizational roles. Through observations and interviews, it identifies themes in their individual practices, how organizational factors influence their work, and how they navigate ethical issues. It frames UX designers as "ethical mediators" who must balance multiple constraints and priorities. The study aims to understand designers' roles in ethical decision making and develop methods to strengthen ethical awareness and action in the field.

1. COLIN M. GRAY
SAI SHRUTHI CHIVUKULA
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
Ethical Mediation
in UX Practice

2. "turn to practice" +
ethics of HCI & UX

6. Contributions
We document cases that describe ethical
decision making in UX practice, detailing
the interactions and positionality of the
designer within each case
We describe ethical decision-making through
the lens of mediation, identifying how
organizational, personal, and ethical
frameworks impact design practices
1
2

7. We document cases that describe ethical
decision making in UX practice, detailing
the interactions and positionality of the
designer within each case
We describe ethical decision-making through
the lens of mediation, identifying how
organizational, personal, and ethical
frameworks impact design practices
1
2
Contributions

8. Case Study Approach
Documenting UX practice

9. STUDY DESIGN
03 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Bottom-up coding of field-notes and
interview transcripts
01
OBSERVATIONS
Each participant was observed in
their natural setting at their work
spaces by two researchers.
02
FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS
To clarify researcher notes from the
observations and broadly document
the perceptions of the participants.

10. DATA ANALYSIS
Case Study Approach
+ Thematic Analysis
Transcripts
(from interviews)
Digital Narratives
(from fieldnotes)
1) individual
practices
2) organizational
practices
3) specific
examples

11. PARTICIPANTS
John (6 years exp.) James (11 years exp.) Martha (9 years exp.)
Business Strategist & ID
Agency & Consultancy
(B2C)
Design Lead/Manager
Agency & Consultancy
(B2C)
User Experience Designer
Network Enterprise
(B2B)

12. PARTICIPANTS
observation sessions2-3
mins of follow-up interview60-90
hours of observation7-10

13. THEMES/ CASES
John (6 years exp.)
Designing Within
“Numbers”
James (11 years exp.)
Being Constantly “Aware”
of Things Out There
Martha (9 years exp.)
Sticking to the
"Grids"

14. DATA COLLECTION
John (6 years exp.)
James (11 years exp.)
Martha (9 years exp.)
hours of observation10
sessions of observation3
minutes of interview90

15. Being Constantly "Aware" of
Things Out There
James's Case

16. JAMES' CASE
01Regularly refreshing knowledge to
inform practice.
BELIEVES IN
02Building others’ ethical character.
TAKES RESPONSIBILITY IN
03Knowing the limits of taking
advantage through your designs.
STRIKES A BALANCE BY

17. JAMES' CASE
01Regularly refreshing knowledge to
inform practice.
BELIEVES IN
James updates his store of knowledge outside of his
design practice to strengthen and help him better
evaluate his ethical behavior.
This regular refreshing of knowledge gives him
contextual information about the application of
values from other contexts and products.
This helps him to engage in self-reflection when
involved in client projects/ discussions, helping him to
form and articulate ethical judgments for critique
or further develop design concepts.

18. 02Building others’ ethical character.
TAKES RESPONSIBILITY IN
JAMES' CASE
James corrects and critiques the design thinking of his
team of “young designers” to help them to evaluate
their own judgments.
He values the development of an ethical perspective
that is personal in character, yet in resonance with
the agency’s goals.
He expresses his responsibility to develop practices at
an organizational level to improve the applied ethics
performed on his project teams.

19. 03Knowing the limits of taking
advantage through your designs.
STRIKES A BALANCE BY
JAMES' CASE
We want to push people to specific actions—
we know they will like and want to use while they
are in the demo—and then after they are familiar
with and excited about the potential of the
functionality, we introduce that the functionality
is a premium."
"
“We can do better” without “taking something
away from somebody” “
Value without “cost[ing] an arm and a leg to
somebody.”
"

20. Influence of situational factors
Different roles taken on by the designer
Designer at the center of
ETHICAL MEDIATION
ACROSS ALL THREE CASES,
CROSS-CASE ANALYSIS

21. Ethical Mediators Individual
Practices
Organizational
Practices
Applied
Ethics
CB
A
Constrain
Extend
Inscribe
Strengthen
Shape
Represent
DESIGNER

22. Ethical Mediators Individual
Practices
Organizational
Practices
Applied
Ethics
CB
A
Constrain
Extend
Inscribe
Strengthen
Shape
Represent
DESIGNER

23. Ethical Mediators Individual
Practices
Organizational
Practices
Applied
Ethics
CB
A
Constrain
Extend
Inscribe
Strengthen
Shape
Represent
DESIGNER

25. Future Work

26. John (6 years exp.)
Designing Within
“Numbers”
James (11 years exp.)
Being Constantly “Aware”
of Things Out There
Martha (9 years exp.)
Sticking to the
"Grids"

27. Methods to support ethical
awareness and action

28. Methods to support ethical
awareness and action
Means of strengthening
designers’ roles within
organizations

29. THANK YOU
COLIN M. GRAY
colingray.me | uxp2.com
gray42@purdue.edu
This research was funded in part by National
Science Foundation Grant No. #1657310