Crafted to engage the culturally curious, 'Page 1' collects the responses of 70 international graphic designers when posed with the same brief - to design and lay out the first page of 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens.

Consider this simple conundrum: is it possible to be a bad good designer or a good bad designer for that matter? If the answer is yes then which is preferable and what does this reveal about the relationship between ethics and design practice? Good: An Introduction to Ethics in Graphic Design seeks to answer these questions. Graphic design is in ethical flux. Good comes at a time of growing disenchantment with style-led design solutions and the pursuit of self-expression alone and yet vacuous design judgements are still made without any real analysis of the criteria used. The terms good and bad are repeatedly applied without qualification whilst the relationship between personal and professional ethics is far too contentious to do any more than give cursory consideration. Despite recent manifestos and themed publications on design for good graphic designers have yet to examine what such terms really mean: in a time of relativism it has been far too divisive to do so. Good takes philosophy as its starting point but is not a philosophy book. It seeks to marry abstract ideas with practical application, removing some of the mystique that surrounds philosophy and highlighting its relevance for us all. Designers are people. This book seeks to engage designers in a debate about their profession and in an analysis of their value and worth. The decisions we make define us, in our ethical choices we reveal who we are.

The title incorporates contextual essays that explore how cultural theory can be applied to the real-world practice of graphic design, and are discussed by designers such as Neville Brody, Michael Bierut and Joan Farrer. This title helps students to develop sound critical judgment and informed strategies for the conception of new ideas that accurately reflect the current zeitgeist. All arts graduates study cultural theory as a part of their degree courses. This title is a companion guide to this theory; it has been edited to fit broadly into the diverse curricula of art schools and colleges around the world and is tailored for course adoptions.