The Design Firm and Its Suppliers

This is an excerpt from chapter 9 of Professional Practices in Graphic Design.

In this age of ever-changing design, what applies to one kind of company may not fit another. If you are involved in print, you’ll have an entirely different group of suppliers than those supporting a design firm specializing in Web pages or multimedia. Some design firms are part advertising agency and part direct marketing company. Some are corporate or government in-house design groups using outside design consultants. One common denominator links us together: high ethical standards. Business ethics aren’t as easily taught as selling techniques because ethical questions are often complex and vary from one situation to another. In selling, there are tried and proven approaches that work for any business, whether it’s graphic arts or insurance. An ethical problem, on the other hand, doesn’t always offer a clear solution and each needs to be approached on a case by case basis. Because two cases are never alike, each needs to be analyzed carefully. If you feel you don’t know the correct answer to an ethical question, call a respected peer. This will usually provide you with the right solution.

• Read the full chapter, The Design Firm and Its Suppliers

From Professional Practices in Graphic Design, Tad Crawford, ed. Allworth Press, 1998. Re-printed with permission of author.