Abstract
In an age of pervasive disinformation, values function as conceptual anchors for comprehending complex information. Design-for-values approaches frame values as alignment opportunities. But the same values that enable ethical, resonant communication can be exploited for manipulative and unethical purposes. This paper argues that values in graphic communication design function as 'darker affordances' — relational properties affording both ethical communication and manipulation with equal reliability. Drawing on Master's students' reflections from a project in which they designed paired climate communication — one ethically aligned, one disinformation — it examines how contrastive pedagogy develops ethical literacy around values' dual nature. Analysis reveals three findings: creating disinformation is structurally easier than ethical communication; this asymmetry triggers an epistemological crisis about design's agency; and recognising values' dual potential collapses ethical/unethical binaries, requiring reasoning within moral ambiguity. This extends design-for-values scholarship by demonstrating that values' stability as meaning-making anchors is precisely what makes them reliable targets for manipulation.
Keywords
value sensitive design; affordances; climate disinformation; design pedagogy
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.665
Citation
Knight, L. (2026) Darker Affordances: Designing with Values as Vulnerabilities in an Age of Disinformation, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.665
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Darker Affordances: Designing with Values as Vulnerabilities in an Age of Disinformation
In an age of pervasive disinformation, values function as conceptual anchors for comprehending complex information. Design-for-values approaches frame values as alignment opportunities. But the same values that enable ethical, resonant communication can be exploited for manipulative and unethical purposes. This paper argues that values in graphic communication design function as 'darker affordances' — relational properties affording both ethical communication and manipulation with equal reliability. Drawing on Master's students' reflections from a project in which they designed paired climate communication — one ethically aligned, one disinformation — it examines how contrastive pedagogy develops ethical literacy around values' dual nature. Analysis reveals three findings: creating disinformation is structurally easier than ethical communication; this asymmetry triggers an epistemological crisis about design's agency; and recognising values' dual potential collapses ethical/unethical binaries, requiring reasoning within moral ambiguity. This extends design-for-values scholarship by demonstrating that values' stability as meaning-making anchors is precisely what makes them reliable targets for manipulation.