This post is a bit whimsical for my taste. The author seems to imply that it's the job of a designer to rise above the ordinary requirements of their job and in

This post is a bit whimsical for my taste. The author seems to imply that it's the job of a designer to rise above the ordinary requirements of their job and insert some kind of politically-charged influence into their day to day work and their interactions with non-designer co-workers, based on what they feel is good or effective design, even if it does not align with the broader corporate strategy. As for the gift card anecdote used in the article, it doesn't take a good designer, or even a designer at all to realize that "hiding" a customer's gift card balance, or making it difficult to access, is an underhanded thing to do. I think it has little to do with design and more to do with a company's culture and true relationship with their customers.