A manifesto is a declaration of intent — often the intent to bring radical change to the world. Throughout history, many art movements have written manifestos, and it’s always a sign that things have gotten real.
OBELISK – Art Manifestos Defining new realities
TOPIC
Graphic design was in its infancy in the early 20th Century, and the artists and designers of the avant-garde were laying the foundation for the field amidst worldwide upheaval and technological and social change. Like the artists and designers of the Avant-Garde, we as designers are called to address some of these same issues: the nature of communication, globalization, gender politics, body politics, and the representation of power. Add to that a worldwide pandemic, economic and racial inequity, and climate change. We have a lot going on to drive the passion for change.
After reading the manifestoes F.T. Marinetti, “Manifesto of Futurism”; Aleksandr Rodchenko, “Who We Are: Manifesto of the Constructivist Group”; and El Lissitzky, “Our Book” found in our main text Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong on pages 19-31 and reviewing the videos from the Week 4 Agenda, complete the following.
Compose your Design Manifesto in the style of Avant-Garde artists and designers. Be poetic/abstract, but clear enough that we can get the idea or re-imagine passages from the manifestos that we’ve read. You might also look at other manifestoes for inspiration, such as A Designer’s Code of Ethics, or Manifestos: A Manifesto: The 10 traits of effective public declarations, or this collection of Design Manifestos.
Please include the following in your Manifesto…
- Use short declarative statements in a list to define the philosophy, intentions, and requirements for the designer of today.
- State the social, political, and ethical ideas that are important to you and necessary for a designer to consider.
- Identify the technological concerns that designers must embrace or reject.
Share & Comment
Add your manifesto in a comment in this Discussion post by Wednesday evening. If you prefer to create visual or video of your Manifesto, you can link to a URL.
Using a nested comment, comment on at least one of your colleagues’ Manifestos.
Design Manifesto 2023
1. All art must be human.
2. Art supplies and tools must be offered free of cost or at a discounted rate for professional artists.
3. A new school/group/team must be compiled to forward, explore, revisit, and redefine design concepts in today’s rapidly evolving world.
4. Artists must be guaranteed payment, job protection, benefits, and work-life balance.
5. Unless commissioned to do so, artists who create “ethnic”, “racial”, “woke”, or “inclusive” art but are not themselves part of these minorities must surrender all personal gains from the exploitation of these minorities and proceeds donated to their respective/appropriate charities.
6. Artificial intelligence must be used to further real-life problems and forward society in their needs and not their pleasures.
7. All AI digital art is free.
8. Digital art prints are protected from piracy and are made proprietary to their creator. Digital art prints may only be sold in their physical form.
9. Artists working digitally (film, animation, sound, web, etc.) must be retained full time and offered benefits through their employer.
A designer should know when to defend their work.
Criticism should always be welcomed and appreciated. It should be thoroughly considered before being dismissed but it is equally as important to stand by your work and defend it. It’s crucial to know the value of the work you have produced and how much the different elements of it matter to the quality and overall message of your work.
You should never let your ego be the reason why your work shouldn’t go from good to great but it’s pivotal for you as a designer to know when it already is great.
I agree that criticism should always be welcomed and appreciated. It is important to consider all feedback that is presented to you, but also to stand behind your work if you feel it is of a high quality. It is up to you to make the final decisions regarding the work you have produced, and to know when it is already good enough.
Manifesto Dump
· Washing your chicken is a must.
· Preventable medical death in BIPOC.
· Hidden education.
· Segregated education.
· Karen’s.
· Entitled people.
· Personal space invasion.
· Bad parking.
· Health care.
· Cost of living
· Civil rights.
· Laws about my body.
· Bullying.
· Corporate manipulation
Women’s Right’s Under Attacks Manifesto
WE DEMAND CHANGE! This is not the country made by the people, for the people. We are the people here and now speaking out against our rights as women being taken away. Save our lives by giving us our rights to be educated properly about our bodies. The choices and decisions are ours to make. We will gather and bring awareness. To the mistreatment of women. We will use the technology to plaster your walls with messages to speak out against the civil human rights you stand to control with the words we post, print, and spread. This is war against your own blood.
The women who carried you for nine months.
The women who have been abuse.
The women who can’t afford.
The women who bodies are against them.
The women who are not yet women but are girls who should not be forced into women hood.
So, hear us now, then, and every day after that. You will never be our bodies, and we will never stop the voices that speak out loud and clear for the cause. So, join us in stopping the injustice being focused upon us. SAY IT LOUD OUR BODIES OUR CHOICE!
Hi Chantal, I just wanna say how identified i was with your Manifesto dump. It is crazy how live with these situations every day till the point that now are normal or nobody notices them anymore.
Don’t Fall for the Fantasy
I really love the imagery here, it is beautifully written, and is very atmospheric. No more fantasies.
I hate when people kill animals for fashion or sport
To slaughter endangered animals for enjoyment or fashion is utterly reckless and immoral. Rare and valuable resources like endangered species must be safeguarded from exploitation. It is utterly disrespectful to the ecosystem and to all the work done to preserve these species to kill them for whatever cause. It also betrays a lack of regard for the dignity of animals and the harmony of the natural world. Talking about this problem is crucial because it promotes awareness and motivates individuals to exercise caution when considering such actions. Because it is needless and inhumane, it is crucial to oppose any movement that encourages the killing of animals for fashion. Animals shouldn’t be slaughtered for their hair or other body parts or treated as throwaway objects.
I agree with you, animals shouldn’t be slaughtered for their bodies or their hair. Endangered animals should be safeguarded to the extent of having some type of punishment attached to the offense. People who participate in the extinction of animals should realize the animals are part of the circle of life.
I agree, too often the lives of animals are disregarded and ignored and its something that is shockingly becoming a trend even though I didn’t think it would, this problem definitely needs more attention and I’m glad you mentioned this.
My Personal Designer’s Manifesto
Embrace your thoughts.
Power in keeping things simple.
Sometimes we can overthink and overcomplicate things which can make it important to embrace what makes us who we are and how to simplify our experience little by little as opposed to accepting that we can handle things.
Art Manifesto:
Social and Political Manifesto:
ZIPCODES SHOULDN’T EQUAL THE QUALITY OF MY EDUCATION
Why is the quality of my education based on my zipcode?
Or do I get poor education because of the color of my skin?
Or is it how much money my parents make?
Why does it feel so complicated to want to prepare myself for the real world?
I don’t know how to do taxes.
I don’t know how to invest my money.
I don’t know the basic stuff people my age should already know so we aren’t scrambling to make it in the real world.
I’ve always hated the line “You’ll see when your older”;
and then you’ll see it too late.
Manifestos:
-Who is your Character
– A designer must be open to change
– Animation needs Storytellers
– Character Designers are Important
– The world needs animators