Keep Growth Good: The Ethics of Growth Design
Hello Fellow Growth Designers 👋
Chase here, Head of Product Design at Disco and Instructor at Growth Design School. We’ve all been there, faced with the tension between what drives business growth and what feels ethically responsible or “right” by the customers we serve. As growth designers, we sit at an intersection of business goals and user experience: shaping behaviours and nudging decisions that connect users to value. But that power can quickly drift into manipulation.
That’s why we need a compass.
Ethics in growth design isn’t a side conversation—it’s the conversation. We need to ask: are we helping users connect to authentic value from our product, or are we exploiting their blind spots for short-term business gain?
This month, we explore how to keep growth good. Not just measurable impact, but sustainable impact. Let’s design for impact and integrity.
Head of Product Design at Disco | Community Lead & Instructor at GrowthDesigners.co
Keeping Growth Good
Growth design is about driving value for both the business and the user but too often that balance skews to the former. We optimize for clicks, conversions, and monetization… but can forget to ask: at what cost?
When we design without ethical guardrails, we risk eroding trust, triggering unintended harm, or distorting behaviour in unhealthy ways. This ultimately, can negatively impact our business goals in the long run.
Ethical growth means designing with intention, not just ambition. It means prioritizing humanity over hacks.
View this lesson and more on designing for growth in the FREE on-demand video Growth Design Crash Course in Growth Design School.
Principles for Ethical Growth Design
If we want to do better, we need principles that guide our decisions beyond the surface. Here are six that matter:
- Data Privacy & Transparency: Collect and use user data responsibly. Only gather data that directly contributes to improving the user experience, and avoid invasive or unnecessary data collection. Be transparent about how your product collects, uses, and protects user data. Finally, provide clear explanations and options for users to control their data and privacy settings.
- Inclusivity & Accessibility: Design for a diverse audience by considering different abilities, languages, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds. Avoid biases and stereotypes in your design, imagery, and language. Prioritize accessibility to ensure that all users, including those with disabilities, can access and use your product.
- Minimize Cognitive Load: Reduce information overload by presenting information in a clear and organized manner. Avoid unnecessary distractions that might hinder user experience.
- Long-Term Impact: Consider the long-term consequences of your design decisions on user behaviour, mental health, and the environment. Aim for solutions that promote positive behaviours and sustainability.
- Respect Users Attention: Value your users' time by designing experiences that are efficient, minimize wait times, and provide clear pathways to achieve their goals.
- Consent and Control: Seek explicit user consent for actions that may affect them, such as data collection, notifications, or algorithmic decisions. Offer users control over these aspects.
3 Design Ethics Tests
Many designs implemented and executed by growth teams have had good intentions, but unfortunately results in negative consequences. When we solve one problem, we can end up creating another one… even worse. Here are three practical tests to spot-check your work:
1. The Regret Test
If users knew everything you knew, would they still take that action?
If the answer is no, it’s manipulation, not motivation. Ditch it.
2. The Manipulation MatrixAsk yourself:
Would I use this product myself?
Does it help users materially improve their lives?
If not, it may be time to rethink.
3. The Backfire Test
Imagine your design works too well. What’s the worst unintended outcome? Could it harm trust, well-being, or behaviour? Then redesign it before reality tests it for you.
Concluding Thoughts
The best growth design is honest, thoughtful, and human. It's rooted in a desire to build not just bigger products, but better ones. That means saying no to short-term wins that cost long-term trust.
It’s harder, slower, and more principled. But it’s also more sustainable, more meaningful, and far more satisfying.
Let’s be the kind of designers who scale good things well—and keep growth truly good.
About the Author
Chase Denomme is a design leader, business coach and instructor passionate about connecting the dots between business and design. He’s currently the Head of Product Design at Disco and Instructor at the Growth Design School.
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