Idea 1: Reformatting the manifesto

In my original idea, I talked about how the manifesto feels somewhat outdated in today's world and by that, I don't mean the content, I refer to instead the format that it's in. Manifestos are typically a block of text, whether physical or digital. These appear daunting in nature and I think that they could be updated in some way so that they're much more easily digestible by their audience as a way to engage the people reading more.

The aim of a manifesto is to inform the audience of a set of beliefs, aims or intentions; that of an individual or a group of people. Often because of their dull appearance they can be easily dismissed by designers, especially younger designers who are used to more full coloured, enticing visuals that they grew up with and are still familiar with nowadays with things such as animated cartoons.

Some examples of manifestos

First Things First 1964

First Things First 2000

First Things First 2014 (Unofficial)

Ten Principles for Good Design by Dieter Rams (1987)

The Riot Grrrl Manifesto by Kathleen Hanna (1991)

incomplete Manifesto for Growth by Bruce Mau (2000)

Designers Against Monoculture 2001

Although a lot of these manifestoes are somewhat dated (10/15+ years ago), I personally feel that they aren't as engaging as they could potentially be. So to find out what the general consensus was about manifestos, I asked a couple of students within the class to get a better, more well-informed opinion of them.

'Manifestos are something I'd see online, not in books. These are usually an essay or an article rather than something that attracts me visually. Sometimes I only get halfway through them, and then get bored.'

'Would typically only read something like this if it was on a website that I regularly enjoy the content of'.

'Aren't stimulating enough'

Although these are only opinions of a few people, it still emphasises the fact that typical manifestos struggle to engage the younger generation and it's these younger audiences that are to be the future of design. They will ultimately be the ones who grow up making a difference and if these students can adopt an ethical way of practice from a younger age, it'll make a big difference to the world of design I believe.

This is why with this idea I want to change the way we go about informing people about a vision, ones that would typically come in the format of a manifesto, so that it's better received by the audience.