Jan,

I think you are highlighting such an important and tricky tension that designers feel everyday. I do think, especially in larger teams, that solo designers can only impact company trends so much individually. However, I think they have a tremendous opportunity to raise concerns, start challenging conversations, and even lead civil discourse around the future of their practices.

I do think there’s a ton of ways that designers can advocate for users simply in how they approach their design philosophically. Every decision we make is advocating for someone, whether it’s selfishly ourselves (or employers) or our audiences.

Your next question is an incredibly, slippery slope isn’t it. I do, personally, think that if a designer completely rejects a core business model of their employer that it may be a good time for that designer to look for another option. Having spent most of the career in the agency-world myself, I 100% get the tension and absolutely have felt it, the struggle is real. Hard choices will always be difficult, but sometimes they are the right choices.

For designers that may not have a choice, I’m always encouraged by the folks that seem to be subverting the systems from within. I think there’s such value in folks that are willing to push teams forward, and though they may not be in a decision-making role, they can certainly influence (in both small and big ways) those who are.

Lastly, to your excellent point, the harsh reality is that we’re all a part of the problem. It can seem like a hopeless response until we decide to be more mindful about our roles as designers and users alike. In our gig-economy, it’s amazing to me that more consumers haven’t realized that we have tremendous power in how we choose to live and what products we choose to use. Never in history, have we had more choice in the matter. As I’m sure you’ve heard time and time again, “We vote with our wallets.” If we don’t like business models, my response (when we can control it) is to abstain from them.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful engagement, I truly appreciate it!