What and whose values in design?: The challenge of incorporating ethics into collaborative prototyping

Purpose – The paper aims to represent a response to the invited paper by Ellen Christiansen: “From ethics of the eye to ethics of the hand in participatory design and development of digital technologies”. Design/methodology/approach – The response takes departure in Christiansen's view points regarding dialogue-oriented collaborative prototyping as a mean to address values in design. Findings – The response points to the limitations of Christiansen's approach in claiming that dialogue cannot by itself ensure integration of ethics into the practice of design. Originality/value – The response addresses methodological issues related to ethical design and stresses the importance of a pro-active design approach in order to implement values in design.