DOSSIER DE
MANIFESTOS
DISSENY i ÈTICA
Assignatura: Ètica de la professió
Professor: Antoni Mañach Moreno
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SUMARI D’AUTORS/DISSENYADORS
Dates de publicació dels Manifestos + Referència de les webs d’on es varen extreure les dates
Allan Chochinov: “1000 Words Manifesto” (2007)
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006469.html (Cons.11-1-13)
Anthony Burrill: “Work Hard and Be Nice to People” (2008)
http://www.anthonyburrill.com/projects/work-hard-and-be-nice-to-people
Bob Gill: “Otherwise forget it” (¿?)
Bob Noorda: “Credo” (2010) http://www.manifestoproject.it/tag/bob-noorda/
(Cons.11-1-13)
Bre Pettis/Kio Stark: “The Cult of Done Manifesto” (2009)
http://www.brepettis.com/blog/2009/3/3/the-cult-of-done-manifesto.html (Cons.11-1-13)
Bruce Mau: “Incomplete Manifesto for Growth” (1998)
http://www.brucemaudesign.com/4817/112450/work/incomplete-manifesto-for-growth (Cons.11-1-13)
Daniel Eatock: “Mini-Maniesto” (2009) http://www.spazioxyz.org/manifesto/ (Cons.11-1-13)
Delaware: “Untitled” (¿?)
Dieter Rams: “Ten Principles for Good Design” (1975-80)
http://www.netmagazine.com/features/dieter-rams-10-principles-good-web-design (Cons.11-1-13)
Enzo Mari: “Barcelona Manifesto” (1999) http://www.manifestoproject.it/enzo-mari/ (Cons.11-1-13)
Eric Cai Shi Wei: “Idea Innocent Originality Reasonable” (2008)
http://es.advertolog.com/ericcai-design/impresos/idea-innocent-originality-reasonable-12300605/ (Cons.11-1-13)
Erik Spiekermannn (Edenspiekermann Agency): “The Edenspiekermann Manifesto”
(¿?)
Experimental Jetset: “Disrepresentation Now! (2001)
http://www.manifestoproject.it/experimental-jetset/ (Cons.11-1-13)
Filip Tyden/Gemma Holt: “Manifesto Generator” (2007)
http://www.manystuff.org/?s=filip+tyden (Cons.11-1-13)
Guillem Ferrer: “Design Manifest for Jerusalen” (2007)
http://oikumenet.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/design-manifesto-for-jerusalen/ (Cons.11-1-13)
Ken Garland: “First Thing First” (1964) (2000)
http://www.kengarland.co.uk/KG%20published%20writing/first%20things%20first/index.html
http://www.art-omma.org/NEW/past_issues/theory/08_First%20Things%20First%20Manifesto%202000.htm
(Cons.11-1-13)
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Kesselskramer: “Untitled” (¿?)
Massimo Vignelli (Vignelli Associates): “The Vignelli Canon” (2008)
http://www.etnassoft.com/biblioteca/the-vignelli-canon/ (Cons.18-1-13)
Mike Mills: “Humans” (2005) http://www.nieves.ch/catalogue/mike.html (Cons.11-1-13)
Milton Glasser: “Ten Things I Have Learned” (2001) http://revisionarts.com/2011/11/ten-things-ihave-learned-milton-glaser-part-of-aiga-talk-in-london/ (Cons.11-1-13)
Peter Nowogrodzki: “The Pesto Manifesto” (2008) http://www.inciteonline.net/peternowogrodzki.html (Cons.18-1-13)
Slavs and Tatars: “Slavs” (2006) http://www.slavsandtatars.com/works.php?id=29
(Cons.11-1-13)
Stefan Sagmeister: “Obsessions” (2008) http://www.sagmeister.com/node/207
(Cons.11-1-13)
Tibor Kalman: “Fuck Committees” (1998) http://www.changethethought.com/an-essay-by-tiborkalman/ (Cons.18-1-13)
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CLASSIFICACIÓ D’AUTORS/DISSENYADORS
DISSENY PRODUCTE
DISSENY GRÀFIC
MULTIDISCIPLINARI
Allan Chochinov
Anthony Burrill
Bre Pettis
Dieter Rams
Bob Gill
Kio Stark
Enzo Mari
Bob Noorda
Bruce Mau
Gemma Holt
Erik Spiekermann
Daniel Eatock
Guillem Ferrer
Experimental Jetset
Eric Cai Shi Wei
Filip Tyden
Massimo Vignelli
Ken Garland
Peter Nowogrodzki
Kesselskramer
Slavs and Tatars
Mike Mills
Milton Glasser
Tibor Kalman
Stefan Sagmeister
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Allan Chochinov
1.000 WORDS MANIFESTO
1. Hippocratic Before Socratic. “First do no harm” is a good starting point for everyone,
but it’s an especially good starting point for designers. For a group of people who
pride themselves on “problem solving” and improving people’s lives, we sure have
done our fair share of the converse. We have to remember that industrial design
equals mass production, and that every move, every decision, every curve we specify is
multiplied—sometimes by the thousands and often by the millions. And that every one
of those everys has a price. We think that we’re in the artifact business, but we’re not;
we’re in the consequence business.
2. Stop Making Crap. And that means that we have to stop making crap. It’s really as
simple as that. We are suffocating, drowning, and poisoning ourselves with the stuff
we produce, abrading, out–gassing, and seeping into our air, our water, our land, our
food— and basically those are the only things we have to look after before there’s no
we in that sentence. It gets into our bodies, of course, and it certainly gets into our
minds. And designers are feeding and feeding this cycle, helping to turn everyone and
everything into either a consumer or a consumable. And when you think about it, this
is kind of grotesque. “Consumer” isn’t a dirty word exactly, but it probably oughta be.
3. Systems Before Artifacts. Before we design anything new, we should examine how we
can use what already exists to better ends. We need to think systems before artifacts,
services before products, adopting Thackara’s use/not own principles at every step.
And when new products are needed, they’ll be obvious and appropriate, and then can
we conscientiously pump up fossil fuels and start polymerizing them. Product design
should be part of a set of tools we have for solving problems and celebrating life. It is a
means, not an end.
4. Teach Sustainability Early. Design education is at a crossroads, with many schools
understanding the potentials, opportunities, and obligations of design, while others
continue to teach students how to churn out pretty pieces of garbage. Institutions that
stress sustainability, social responsibility, cultural adaptation, ethnography, and
systems thinking are leading the way. But soon they will come to define what industrial
design means. This doesn’t mean no aesthetics. It just means a keener eye on costs
and benefits.
5. Screws Better Than Glues. This is lifted directly from the Owner’s Manifesto, which
addresses how the people who own things and the people who make them are in a
kind of partnership. But it’s a partnership that’s broken down, since almost all of the
products we produce cannot be opened or repaired, are designed as subassemblies to
be discarded upon failure or obsolescence, and conceal their workings in a kind of
solid–state prison.This results in a population less and less confident in their abilities to
use their hands for anything other than pushing buttons and mice, of course. But it
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also results in people fundamentally not understanding the workings of their built
artifacts and environments, and, more importantly, not understanding the role and
impact that those built artifacts and environments have on the world. In the same way
that we can’t expect people to understand the benefits of a water filter when they
can’t see the gunk inside it, we can’t expect people to sympathize with greener
products if they can’t appreciate the consequences of any products at all.
6. Design for Impermanence. In his Masters Thesis, “The Paradox of Weakness:
Embracing Vulnerability in Product Design,” my student Robert Blinn argues that we
are the only species who designs for permanence—for longevity—rather than for an
ecosystem in which everything is recycled into everything else. Designers are complicit
in this over–engineering of everything we produce (we are terrified of, and often
legally risk–averse to, failure), but it is patently obvious that our ways and means are
completely antithetical to how planet earth manufactures, tools, and recycles things.
We choose inorganic materials precisely because biological organisms cannot consume
them, while the natural world uses the same building blocks over and over again. It is
indeed Cradle–to–Cradle or cradle–to–grave, I’m afraid.
7. Balance Before Talents. The proportion of a solution needs to balance with its
problem: we don’t need a battery–powered pooper scooper to pick up dog poop, and
we don’t need a car that gets 17 mpg to, well, we don’t need that car, period. We have
to start balancing our ability to be clever with our ability to be smart. They’re two
different things.
8. Metrics Before Magic. Metrics do not get in the way of being creative. Almost
everything is quantifiable, and just the exercise of trying to frame up ecological and
labor impacts can be surprisingly instructive. So on your next project, if you’ve
determined that it may be impossible to quantify the consequences of a material or
process or assembly in a design you’re considering, maybe it’s not such a good
material or process or assembly to begin with. There are more and more people out
there in the business of helping you to find these things out, by the way; you just have
to call them.
9. Climates Before Primates. This is the a priori, self–evident truth. If we have any hope of
staying here, we need to look after our home. And our anthropocentric worldview is
literally killing us. “Design serves people”? Well, I think we’ve got bigger problems
right now.
10. Context Before Absolutely Everything.Understanding that all design happens within a
context is the first (and arguably the only) stop to make on your way to becoming a
good designer. You can be a bad designer after that, of course, but you don’t stand a
chance of being a good one if you don’t first consider context. It’s everything: in
graphics, communication, interaction, architecture, product, service, you name it—if it
doesn’t take context into account, it’s crap. And you already promised not to make any
more of that.
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Anthony Burrill
WORK HARD AND BE NICE TO PEOPLE
Work hard and be nice to people.
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Bob Gill
OTHERWISE FORGET IT
The audience for graphic design is the same audience that will have seen
the latest alien movie and the hottest music video with special effects that
are absolutely dazzling. How can a graphic designer compete with this
magic? We don’t have the technology or the budge ts, or the time. If we
want to attract attention to our work, we have to go to the other extreme.
We have to go to reality! We must take a careful look at the real world and,
in effect, say to our audience, “Look! have you ever noticed this before?
Even though it was right under your nose. ” That, to me, is more exciting
than the most amazing special effects. And there ’s another thing about the
situation today that graphic designers must recognize. Before computers,
the production of printed matter was in th e hands of designers and
printers. Most clients had only the vaguest idea how it was produced. And
they were prepared to pay well for their logos, newsletters, brochures and
other business paper.
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Bob Noorda
CREDO
I believe that, whatever design problem you need to solve, you should face it with
rationality, logic and careful analysis if you want to get to the right idea.
Graphic design is always a synthetic work: you need to reduce and remove until you reach
the core of the message. When you work with typography and lettering, the essential goal
is to obtain the best possible legibility.
To achieve this result, it is fundamental to know typography and its history. The computer
has become an essential tool but its undisputed utility and versatility cannot replace
knowledge. As extraordinary as this instrument can be, you need deep roots and the ability
to express yourself even with the simplest tools—such as a pencil—in order to use it
correctly. A good software does not necessarily create good graphics.
Graphics is not an independent art, but a service. To obtain a correct result, you need to
put yourself on the side of the observer, on the side of the public.
A good designer is the one who offers a good service through communication, not the one
who wants to surprise at any cost, neither the one who wants to show how good he is.
A designer is good if he can solve a problem, if he puts forward a useful solution.
I believe that these rules could be a good start for a career in design.
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Bre Pettis/Kio Stark
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THE CULT OF DONE MANIFESTO
There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get done.
There is no editing stage.
Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are
doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.
Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
Once you’re done you can throw it away.
Laugh at perfection. It’s boring and keeps you from being done.
People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
Destruction is a variant of done.
If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
Done is the engine of more.
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Bruce Mau
INCOMPLETE MANIFESTO FOR GROWTH
1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from
something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for
growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by
them.
2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is
not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not
yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you’ll never have real growth.
3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we
will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not
know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit
the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials,
and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
5. Go deep. The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.
6. Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different
question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.
7. Study. A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to
study. Everyone will benefit.
8. Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment.
Postpone criticism.
9. Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form
of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
10. Everyone is a leader. Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to
follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.
11. Harvest ideas. Edit applications. Ideas need a dynamic, fluid, generous environment to
sustain life. Applications, on the other hand, benefit from critical rigor. Produce a high
ratio of ideas to applications.
12. Keep moving. The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success.
Resist it. Allow failure and migration to be part of your practice.
13. Slow down. Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities
may present themselves.
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14. Don’t be cool. Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of
this sort.
15. Ask stupid questions. Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not
the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.
16. Collaborate. The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction,
strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.
17. ____________________. Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t
had yet, and for the ideas of others.
18. Stay up late. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long,
worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.
19. Work the metaphor. Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than
what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.
20. Be careful to take risks. Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent
of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.
21. Repeat yourself. If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.
22. Make your own tools. Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple
tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember,
tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.
23. Stand on someone’s shoulders. You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments
of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.
24. Avoid software. The problem with software is that everyone has it.
25. Don’t clean your desk. You might find something in the morning that you can’t see
tonight.
26. Don’t enter awards competitions. Just don’t. It’s not good for you.
27. Read only left-hand pages. Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of
information, we leave room for what he called our "noodle."
28. Make new words. Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of
thinking. The thinking demands new forms of expression. The expression generates
new conditions.
29. Think with your mind. Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.
30. Organization = Liberty. Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in
context. That context is usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank
Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because his studio can deliver it on
budget. The myth of a split between "creatives" and "suits" is what Leonard Cohen
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calls a ‘charming artifact of the past.’
31. Don’t borrow money. Once again, Frank Gehry’s advice. By maintaining financial
control, we maintain creative control. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s surprising
how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many have failed.
32. Listen carefully. Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world
more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the
details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto
our own. Neither party will ever be the same.
33. Take field trips. The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the
Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, objectoriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.
34. Make mistakes faster. This isn’t my idea — I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy
Grove.
35. Imitate. Don’t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You’ll never get all the
way, and the separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard
Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp’s large glass to see how rich, discredited,
and underused imitation is as a technique.
36. Scat. When you forget the words, do what Ella did: make up something else … but not
words.
37. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.
38. Explore the other edge. Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the
technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot.
Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic cycle but still rich with
potential.
39. Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms. Real growth often happens outside of where we
intend it to, in the interstitial spaces — what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans
Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure
of a conference — the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals — but with no actual
conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing
collaborations.
40. Avoid fields. Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts
to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order
what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and
cross the fields.
41. Laugh. People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I’ve
become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing
ourselves.
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42. Remember. Growth is only possible as a product of history. Without memory,
innovation is merely novelty. History gives growth a direction. But a memory is never
perfect. Every memory is a degraded or composite image of a previous moment or
event. That’s what makes us aware of its quality as a past and not a present. It means
that every memory is new, a partial construct different from its source, and, as such, a
potential for growth itself.
43. Power to the people. Play can only happen when people feel they have control over
their lives. We can’t be free agents if we’re not free.
(Traducción de Joan Pujagut)
Un manifiesto para el siglo XXI. Un manifiesto incompleto para el crecimiento.
1. DEJA QUE LOS SUCESOS TE CAMBIEN. Tienes que desear crecer. Crecer no es algo que te
ocurre a ti. Tú lo produces, lo vives. Requisitos para crecer: estar abierto a experimentar y
dejar que los sucesos te cambien.
2. OLVÍDATE DE LO BUENO. Lo bueno es una cantidad conocida. Lo bueno es aquello en lo
que todos estamos de acuerdo. Crecer no es necesariamente bueno. Crecer es explorar, lo
que nos puede o no conducir a lo que estamos buscando. Si te aferras a lo bueno nunca
tendrás un buen crecimiento.
3. EL PROCESO ES MÁS IMPORTANTE QUE EL RESULTADO. Cuando el resultado conduce al
proceso solo llegaremos donde ya hemos estado. Si el proceso conduce al resultado, puede
que no sepamos dónde vamos, pero sabremos que queremos llegar.
4. AMA TUS EXPERIMENTOS (COMO SE QUIERE A UN HIJO FEO). La alegría es el
mecanismo del crecimiento. Explota la libertad de interpretar tus trabajos como hermosos
experimentos, reiteraciones, tentativas, pruebas y errores. Tómatelo con calma y
permítete la alegría de equivocarte cada día.
5. PROFUNDIZA. Cuanto más profundices más posibilidades tendrás de descubrir algo de
valor.
6. CAPTURA LOS ACCIDENTES. La respuesta equivocada es la respuesta correcta en la
búsqueda de una verdad diferente. Colecciona las respuestas equivocadas como parte del
proceso. Pregunta cosas insólitas.
7. ESTUDIO / ESTUDIA. Un estudio es un lugar para estudiar. Usa las necesidades de la
producción como una excusa para estudiar. Todo el mundo saldrá beneficiado.
8. DEAMBULA. Pregúntate sin descanso. Explora a tu alrededor. No hagas juicios y retrasa
cualquier crítica.
9. COMIENZA EN CUALQUIER PARTE. John Cage decía que no saber dónde empezar es una
forma de parálisis. Su consejo era: comienza en cualquier parte.
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10. TODO EL MUNDO ES UN LÍDER. El crecimiento ocurre. Cuando lo hace, déjalo emerger.
Aprende a seguirlo cuando tiene sentido. Deja que cualquiera dirija.
11. CULTIVA IDEAS, EDITA APLICACIONES. Las ideas necesitan un entorno dinámico, fluido
y generoso para desarrollarse. Las aplicaciones, en cambio, se benefician con un rigor
crítico. Produce gran cantidad de ideas para aplicarlas.
12. MUÉVETE. El mercado y su entorno tienden a reafirmar el éxito. Resístete. Deja que el
error y el cambio sean parte de tu trabajo.
13. RALENTIZA. Desincroniza de los horarios establecidos y las oportunidades
sorprendentes se presentaran solas.
14. NO SEAS COOL. Lo cool es el miedo conservador vestido de negro. Libérate de este tipo
de limitaciones.
15. PREGUNTA COSAS ESTÚPIDAS. El crecimiento funciona gracias al deseo y a la
inocencia. Fíjate en la respuesta, no en la pregunta. Imagina poder aprender durante toda
tu vida con la curiosidad de un niño.
16. COLABORA. El espacio entre la gente que trabaja junta se llena de conflictos,
fricciones, disputas, delicias alborozadas y un vasto potencial creativo.
17. ______________________________Esta en blanco intencionadamente. Deja espacio
para las ideas que todavía no has tenido y las ideas de otros.
18. QUÉDATE HASTA TARDE. Cuando has ido demasiado lejos, te has pasado de vueltas,
has trabajado duro y estás separado del resto del mundo, suceden cosas extrañas.
19. TRABAJA LA METÁFORA. Cada cosa tiene la capacidad de servir para algo más de lo
que aparenta. Trabaja en sus posibilidades.
20. EL TIEMPO ES GENÉTICO. El hoy es el niño del ayer y el padre del mañana. El trabajo
que haces hoy influirá en tu futuro. Ten cuidado al arriesgarte.
21. REPÍTETE. Si te gusta, vuelve a hacerlo. Si no te gusta, vuelve a hacerlo.
22. CONSTRUYE TUS PROPIAS HERRAMIENTAS. Para poder construir piezas únicas
convierte en híbridas tus herramientas. Incluso las más simples pueden llevarte a nuevos
caminos de exploración. Recuerda, las herramientas amplifican tus capacidades, así que
incluso una pequeña puede producir grandes diferencias.
23. APÓYATE EN ALGUIEN. Puedes viajar más lejos llevado por los logros de los que
estuvieron antes que tú. Y la vista es mucho mejor.
24. CUIDADO CON EL SOFTWARE. El problema con el software es que todo el mundo lo
tiene.
25. NO LIMPIES TU MESA. Por la mañana puedes encontrar algo que no viste anoche.
26. NO DISCUTAS. No lo hagas. No es bueno para ti.
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27. LEE SOLO LAS PÁGINAS IZQUIERDAS. Marshall McLuhan lo dijo. Disminuyendo la
información dejamos sitio para lo que el llamaba nuestro «spaghetti».
28. CREA NUEVAS PALABRAS. EXTIENDE EL LÉXICO. Las nuevas situaciones piden una
nueva forma de pensar. El pensamiento pide nuevas formas de expresión. La expresión
genera nuevas situaciones.
29. LA CREATIVIDAD NO DEPENDE DE LOS INVENTOS. Olvida la tecnología. Piensa con la
mente.
30. ORGANIZACIÓN – LIBERTAD. Las verdaderas innovaciones en diseño o en cualquier
otro campo, suceden dentro de un contexto. Ese contexto suele ser alguna forma de
empresa dirigida corporativamente. Frank Gehry, por ejemplo, fue capaz de realizar el
Guggenheim de Bilbao porque su estudio pudo desarrollarlo dentro de los presupuestos. El
mito de la separación entre creativos y técnicos es lo que Leonard Cohen llama un
encantador artefacto del pasado.
31. NO PIDAS DINERO PRESTADO. Una vez más, un consejo de Frank Ghery. Manteniendo
el control financiero mantendremos el control creativo. No es exactamente un principio
científico, pero es sorprendente lo que cuesta mantenerlo, y a cuantos les ha salido mal su
aplicación.
32. ESCUCHA CON ATENCIÓN. Cada colaborador que entra en nuestra órbita trae consigo
un mundo más extraño y complejo de lo que nos podríamos llegar a imaginar. Escuchando
los detalles y las sutilezas de sus necesidades, deseos o ambiciones, recogemos su mundo
en el nuestro. Ningún «party» volverá a ser igual.
33. IMITA. No te preocupes por ello. Procura acercarte tanto como puedas. Nunca lo
conseguirás del todo, y la diferencia puede ser verdaderamente notable.
34. COMETE ERRORES RÁPIDAMENTE. No es una idea mía. La robé. Creo que es de Andy
Grove.
35. TATAREA. Cuando olvides las palabras, haz lo que Ella (Fitzgerald): haz algo más… no
palabras.
36. RÓMPELO, ALÁRGALO, DÓBLALO, ESTRÚJALO, CUARTÉALO, CÚRVALO
37. EXPLORA LOS MÁRGENES. Las grandes libertades existen cuando evitamos tratar de
correr detrás de la tecnología. No podemos encontrar los márgenes porque los tenemos
debajo de los pies. Trata de seguir usando los viejos equipos, aun estando obsoletos para
los ciclos económicos, todavía son potentes.
38. PAUSAS PARA EL CAFÉ, PASEOS EN COCHE, DESCANSOS. El crecimiento suele ocurrir
fuera de los lugares donde lo intentamos, en los espacios intermedios, lo que el Dr. Seuss
llama la sala de espera.
Hans Ulrich Obrist, un comisario de exposiciones de París, en una ocasión organizó una
conferencia de arte y ciencia con toda la infraestructura de una conferencia (las fiestas,
16
encuentros, comidas, recepciones en el aeropuerto,…) pero sin conferencia. Parece ser que
tuvo mucho éxito y fructificó en numerosas colaboraciones.
39. VIAJA. El ancho de banda del mundo es superior al de tu televisor, o Internet o incluso
al de un entorno simulado por ordenador a tiempo real totalmente interactivo y en 3D.
40. EVITA LOS CAMPOS. SALTA LAS VALLAS. Las fronteras estrictas y los regímenes
reguladores son intentos de controlar la vida creativa libre. Son, con frecuencia, esfuerzos
incomprensibles para controlar lo que son procesos complejos, múltiples y evolutivos.
Nuestro trabajo es saltar las vallas y cruzar los campos.
41. RIE. Las personas que visitan nuestro estudio comentan con frecuencia lo mucho que
nos reimos. Desde que me he dado cuenta, lo uso como barómetro de los confortables que
nos sentimos.
42. RECUERDA. El conocimiento solo es posible como un resultado de la historia. Sin la
memoria la innovación es meramente una novedad. La historia le da una dirección al
crecimiento. Pero la memoria nunca es perfecta. Cada memoria es una imagen degradada
o mezclada de momentos o sucesos previos. Esto es lo que nos hace conscientes de su
cualidad como pasado y no como presente. Lo que significa que cada memoria es nueva,
una reconstrucción parcial de su origen, y como tal, potente para crecer por sí misma.
43. PODER PARA LA GENTE. El juego solo puede darse cuando la gente siente que tiene el
control sobre su vida. No podemos ser agentes de la libertad si no somos libres.
http://www.brucemaudesign.com
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Daniel Eatock
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
MINI-MANIFESTO
Begin with ideas.
Embrace chance.
Celebrate coincidence.
Ad–lib and make things up.
Eliminate superfluous elements.
Subvert expectation.
Make something difficult look easy.
Be first or last.
Believe complex ideas can produce simple things.
Trust the process.
Allow concepts to determine form.
Reduce material and production to their essence.
Sustain the integrity of an idea.
Propose honesty as a solution.
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Delaware
UNTITLED
Worse is better. Joey is a headbanger.
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Dieter Rams
TEN PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD DESIGN
01 Good design is innovative. The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means,
exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for
innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative
technology, and can never be an end in itself.
02 Good design makes a product useful. A product is bought to be used. It has to
satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic.
Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything
that could possibly detract from it.
03 Good design is aesthetic. The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its
usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our wellbeing. But only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
04 Good design makes a product understandable. It clarifies the product’s structure.
Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.
05 Good design is unobtrusive. Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are
neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both
neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.
06 Good design is honest. It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or
valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with
promises that cannot be kept.
07 Good design is long-lasting. It avoids being fashionable and therefore never
appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today’s
throwaway society.
08 Good design is thorough down to the last detail. Nothing must be arbitrary or left to
chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the
consumer.
09 Good design is environmentally friendly. Design makes an important contribution to
the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimises physical
and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
10 Good design is as little design as possible. Less, but better – because it concentrates
on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials.
Back to purity, back to simplicity.
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Enzo Mari
BARCELONA MANIFESTO
Notes by the author
Dear Catalan Governm ent ’s Counsellor for Culture, while producing the
materials for the exhibition I tried to be co nsistent with the reason why I was
awarded with the Barcellona Disseny (“in 20 00 your professional route and
your contribution to the culture of objects can offer an opportune reflectio n
on the state of design today. ”)
But the extent and complexity of the problems this motivation im plies go far
beyond the work of one artist. I therefore thought it was important —now
that we are symbolically entering the new millennium —to take advantage of
this opportunity to share with you and the public —including students,
architects and the other workers —my reflections in t he classic and yet
synthetic form of a M anifesto that I ’ve decided to call: Barcelona Manifesto.
Barcellona Manifesto The utopizing tension of the origins of design must be
recovered. If this is the allegory of a possible transformation, then it should
reach as many peo ple as possible. Those people who build our environment in
a state of alienation and thus remain partially responsible of its
transformation.
The mechanisms lead by the IT revolutio n are presently devouring all ideas to
vomit sellable goods.
To begin with, in the next decades we must find the right ways to isolate from
this redundancy the transformation ideas. In order to achieve that we must
separate them from all those ideas that are generated by irresponsible
anarchies that deny and trivial ize the drive towards the utopia, thus making it
impossible to get peo ple involved.
In the meanwhile, it m ight be worth to generalize the idea that: every project
works towards ethics (which can be compared to the Hippocratic Oath).
Enzo Mari, January 1999
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Eric Cai Shi Wei
IDEA INNOCENT ORIGINALITY REASONABLE
Originalism. The leading force of design revolution are Chinese designers, while our theoretical
basis is Originalism. If there’s a revolution, then there must be a leading theme, according to
revolutionary theories and styles. Without such a theme, it’s impossible to beat the so–called
plagiarism and its followers. If there’s no effort towards Originalism and if Chinese Designer
isn’t the protagonist of Chinese design, China will never achieve independence and freedom in
design field. Originalism is the aiming core for all Chinese designers, and without it Originalism
as a business cannot win. Originalism is a thought–provoking, originality–leading, self–critical
and design–related doctrine. If a troop of designers is equipped with such a doctrine and form
a united front together with all the originalist designers, these weapons will defeat our
enemies. We must have faith both in ‘Originalism designers’ and in Originalism itself. These
are two cardinal principles. If we doubt these principles, we can’t accomplish anything. Armed
with Originalism theories and ideas, Chinese Originalism has brought a new working style to
Chinese designers, a style which essentially integrates theories with practice, creating close
links with the designer and making self–criticism possible. Originalism can never lead to a
great revolutionary movement for the final victory unless it’s armed with revolutionary
theories, knowledge of history and a deep grasp of practical movement. As we used to say,
the rectification movement is “a widespread education movement of Originalism”.
Rectification means that the designer should study Originalism through criticism and self–
criticism. We can certainly learn more about Originalism during the rectification movement.
It’s a difficult task to ensure a better life for the several hundred millions of people in China
and to change it from a backward country into an international, developed and aesthetic one.
That is why we need a rectification movement, which we should insist on not only now, but
also in the future. We must correct the fake, in order to take a deeper responsibility in this
task and cooperate with revolutionary members overseas. Orientation Creative is not only our
starting–point for all the practical actions of China Originalism, but it’s also a demonstration of
the practical process and destination. All the actions of originality revolution should be based
on Orientation Creativity. We only have two choices: a right and proactive originality or a fake
and blind creativity. Experiences are the process and destination of originality. And designers’
practices or experiences can prove the validity of originality. Originalism has laid down on the
leading principles and policies of Chinese design revolution, as well as many working details
and thinking principles. However, though many designers may keep in mind specific working
and thinking principles of Originalism, they often forget its leading principle and policy. In this
case, we are blind, half–baked, muddleheaded designers. When we carry out a specific
working principle and idea, we shall loose our bearings and stagger, because what suffers or
gets delayed is our work. Originalities and strategies are the marrow of Chinese Originalism.
Chinese designers must pay full attention to these two points.
Struggles between classes. Among classes struggles, some classes triumph while others are
eliminated. This is History, and it’s the same case in the history of design. In a design society,
every designer lives as a member of a particular class, and every thought, with no exception, is
stamped with the brand of a class. Design changes according to the development of paradoxes
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among creative thoughts: the paradox between creativity and creation, between the old and
the new and the paradox among classes. These paradoxes push the design forward and
accelerate the transition from old design to the new one. Due to the ruthless exploitation and
aesthetic repression on public thoughts in a plagiarist way, the original designer was forced to
stand up in order to resist their contamination. Only class struggle among designers and the
struggles of the Originalism designers can support design development. We should organize
ourselves as Originalism designers. If we are allied with all these designers, we can defeat
plagiarists. Without fighting or struggle, Plagiarism will never disappear. It’s the same case
with sweeping, in which dust will never clear up itself. Who are our enemies? Who are our
friends? This is a question of first importance for originality revolution. The basic reason why
all previous revolutionary struggles in China achieved so little was their failure to join with real
friends in order to attack real enemies. Originalism is the guide of all designers, and no
revolution ever succeeds when the revolutionary concept leads them astray. We must ensure
that we will definitely achieve success in our revolution and will not lead the designers astray;
we must stay with our real friends in order to attack our real enemies. The designer who
stands by the original designers is a revolutionist, while the one standing by the plagiarists is
an anti–revolutionist. Anyone who pretends to be a revolutionist but acts like he’s not, is a
false–revolutionist, while one who follows Originalism both in words and in action is a real
revolutionist. Plagiarists will never accept their failure; they absolutely will make their final
beat. Even after the realization of an originality society, plagiarists will, by all means, make
trouble and do plagiaries. This is undoubted and inevitable, and for this reason we should
reinforce our vigilance. It is a long process to succeed in ideological struggles between our
Originalism and plagiarism, since the latter will have a long–term influence on our society.
Provided that we have little or no understanding of this situation, we should make big mistakes
and ignore the necessary fight with plagiarism. Both plagiarism and revisionism are doctrines
against Originalism. Orginalism should constantly move forward with the development of
practices. It will die when it stops development. But such development is bound to follow the
leading principle of Originalism. Plagiarism takes Originalism as a dead doctrine while
revisionism is a branch of plagiarism. Revisionism obscures the differences between
Originalism and plagiarism, and, moreover, the differences between both classes. What
revisionism advocates is the latter one, not the former one.
Originalism. Originalism system will eventually take place instead of the plagiarism one. It’s an
objective law which will never affect people’s will. No matter how plagiarism prevents the
development of the history of design: revolution will take place sooner or later and achieve the
final success in the end. Originalism designer never conceal his creative ideas. Definitely and
undoubtedly, our future program is to carry China forward to Originalism. We are
implementing not only the revolution of design system but also the revolution of basic
education. Both revolutions are tightly bounded. The new design system has only just been
established and requires time for its consolidation. It must not be assumed that the new
system can be completely consolidated the moment it is established, because this is
impossible. We have to achieve a national–spread Originalism and insist on the originality
revolution. Moreover, we must offer an education on the frequent and arduous revolutionary
struggles. And the prerequisite is an international cooperation. It is a long–term process for
both these struggles to give strenght to Originalism system and to the struggle between
23
Originalism and plagiarism. Nevertheless, there should be a prospective in our mind that we
are able to consolidate the new Originalism system and build up an new nation armed with
modern aesthetics and modern design themes, as well as a modern spiritual culture. To
educate our designers is an essential and urgent work, but its thoughts are easily distracted.
According to the experiences of the other countries with an advanced design, long–time
preparation and careful work can lead to a real design originality, without which an overall and
solid Originalism is impossible. We must have faith, first, that designers are ready to step on
the way toward Originalism under the leadership of China Originalism, and second, that the
Originalism is capable of leading the designer along this road. These two points are the
essence of the matter. In addition to the leadership of Originalism, the fundamental factor are
our designers themselves. More designers mean a greater ferment of ideas, more enthusiasm
and energy. Never before the designer have been so inspired, so militant and so daring.
Under the leadership of China Originalism, Chinese designers are carrying out a vigorous
rectification movement, in order to put the rapid development of Originalism in China on a
firmer basis. By means of practicing and reasoning, we should launch an overall revolutionary
movement, consciously and freely, to deal with the problems between plagiarism and
Originalism, the problems of designing principles, developments and working styles, and, the
most urgent of all, solving the inevitable problems at this stage. This movement must be a
self–educated and self–reviewing one.
The Correct Handling of Contradictions among the Designer. Contradiction between enemies
and us and between design ideas are two different types of contradictions. To understand
them correctly, we must first be clear on what is meant by ‘originality’ and ‘enemy’. The
classes which support and work for the Originalism are in alliance with Originalism designers.
The classes which oppose, resist and destruct the establishment of Originalism are the
enemies of Originalism designers. For our designers the most important question is how to
distinguish the right words and actions from the wrong ones. Considering our Originalism
principles and the will of the overwhelming majority of our designers, the criteria should be as
following: (1) what should help to unite, not to divide, the designers of our country.(2) What
should be beneficial, and not harmful, to Originalism transformation and construction.(3)
What should help to consolidate, and not undermine or weaken, designers status.(4) What
helps, but not destroys, the alliance of Originalism designers worldwide. Since two
contradictions are different in nature, solutions are different either. To put it in short, the
former are a matter of drawing a clear distinction between ourselves and the enemy, and the
latter a matter of drawing a clear distinction between what is right and what is wrong.
Plagiarists tried to reflect their thoughts. They made no effort to express themselves on
thinking and expression matters. It is impossible for them to hide away from the public
attention. Rather than fight plagiarists’ performance, we should let them to freely express
themselves. What we need to do is to discuss with them and criticize them. Without criticism,
the market would be filled with plagiarized designs and this would be an unexpected case for
us. We should criticize the mistakes like we sweep poisonous weeds. In ordinary
circumstances, contradictions among designers are not antagonistic. However, if
contradictions aren’t handled properly, or if we relax our vigilance and lower our guard,
antagonism may arise.
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War and Peace. revolutionary wars are inevitable in a design society, and without them it’s
impossible to accomplish any leap in design development and to eliminate plagiarism.
Originalism is an antitoxin which not only eliminates the enemy but also its followers.
Originality revolution is so powerful that it can revise designs or pave a road for this revision.
Every designer must grasp the truth: “ideas arise from Originalism.” The core task and the top
of pyramid of Originalism is to reform the society. This revolutionary principle of Originalism
must be achieved both for China and overseas. To achieve a lasting worldwide development of
originality we must further develop our friendship and cooperation with other countries and
strengthen our solidarity with all Originalism forms. Making troubles, plagiarizing, making
troubles again, plagiarizing again and again, even destructing. This is the logic of plagiarists and
the unknown. Fight, fail, fight again, fail again, fight again and again… till the victory; this is the
logic of Originalism designer. We shouldn’t be less vigilant because of our victory. Designers
who are free from Originalism would put themselves in a passive position. Design is improving,
future is bright and no one can change this general historical trend. We should carry on a
constant propaganda among the designers regarding design improvements and the bright
future ahead, so that they will build up their confidence for the victory.
Plagiarists and their followers are all paper tigers. All the plagiarists are like paper tigers. At
first sight, plagiarists are terrifying people. But, in reality, they are nothing. From a wider
perspective, the real power is in the hands of Originalism designers rather than plagiarists’
ones. Moving a stone to hit one’s own feet: this is a Chinese saying to describe fools’
performances. Plagiarists are like those fools. What they have done to Originalism designers is
to push the latter one to become more active and more devoted to design revolution.
Plagiarists won’t live long, since what they focus on is to plagiarize other’s ideas and to
destruct design development. Consequently, worldwide designers are forced to cooperate
and fight for Originalism. To kill the plagiarists’ repressions is the ultimate goal for all
Originalism designers.
Dare to Struggle and Dare to Win. Designers of the world! We should unite and defeat
plagiarism and its followers. Designers of the world! Be courageous, dare to fight back, defy
difficulties and go on wave upon wave. Then the whole world will belong to Originalism
designers.In design history the dying plagiarists tend to make a final strike to the Originalism
power. Some Originalism designers could be deluded, within a certain period, by the
pretentious plagiarism idea that they are energetic outside but vulnerable inside, failing to
grasp the essential fact that the enemy is nearing extinction while they are approaching
victory. We should get rid of all our impotential thoughts. All views that overestimate the
strength of plagiarism and underestimate the strength of the Originalism designers are wrong.
Designer’s War. Originality war is designers’ war; it can be accomplished by motivating and
relying on designers. What is a true bastion of iron? Designers, millions of designers who
genuinely and sincerely support Originalism. This is the real iron bastion which can never be
broken. Plagiarists will never beat us, whereas we will defeat them. We are absolutely capable
to eliminate them and achieve the final victory. All the leading principles of Originalism
revolution are based on a core principle with which we should try at our best to arouse our
creativity and, furthermore, exterminate plagiarists.
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Team of designers. Chinese designers form a solid team which follows Originalism firmly.
Especially at this moment, apart from designing, and insisting on Originalism and eliminating
plagiarism, Chinese designers are also responsible for propagating, organizing and helping all
the comrades in order to build up revolutionary forces and complete original designs.
Without propagating, organizing and managing, there’s no sense in our revolution and there’s
no sense in the existence of designers. All Chinese designers must always remember that we
are the great Originalism Designers, we are the troops led by the great Originalism of
China. Provided that we constantly observe the instructions of the Originalism, we are
doomed to win.
The Designer Line. Only the Originalism designer is the force in making the history of
design.Originalism designers are endowed with unlimited creativities. They can stay together
to design more deeply and more widely, improve themselves and increase society
development. Designers have an inexhaustible enthusiasm for Originalism. Those who can only
follow the old thinking routine are incapable of seeing this enthusiasm. They are blind and in a
total black. Those who simply follow the old routine underestimate this designers’ enthusiasm.
They tend to disapprove every new idea and they fight them. Afterwards, they have to admit
defeat and make an unserious self–criticism. These people are always passive, always hesitate
and stop at the critical moment, and they’re always forced to move forward. Among all the
innovative works, oppressionism is the wrong one, since it’s beyond what customers accept
and against the principle of willingness. It’s a disease. Designers who have a deep and
detailed understanding of their own products think that customers should have their same or
similar understanding. But the truth is that only after researches and studies we can see
whether customers understand or are willing to pay for the ideas. Among all the innovative
works, flatterism is also wrong since it is behind what customers can accept and against the
principle of guide the customer. It is a chronic disease. The designers, who have had no or only
a little understanding of certain matters, consider that our customers should have same or
similar understanding with us. But the truth is that our customers have already been far
beyond us. We should gather and form our right opinions from customers and we should
also apply these opinions to customers and guide them. This is the fundamental
communication with customers. We should undestand deeply the customers, learn from them,
collect their experiences and finally form our own innovative ideas and thoughts. Then we
should communicate with customers and suggest them to bring those ideas or thoughts into
reality, solve their problems and achieve their understanding and benefits. Designers should
continuously pay attention to customer conditions, benefits, experiences and markets. We
should also keep an eye on the issue of customers’ development in enterprises, products and
marketing. The services offered by us should include all the matters above. Discussion,
decision, implementation and examination are the services we provide for customers. What
we want them to recognize is that we are there for their benefits, and we stand side by side
with them. From our services they can have a better and deeper understanding of our designs;
they can accept, support and defend our original work. They also can help us spread our
original products throughout the country. And, eventually, they can give us a hand in the
victory of Originalism.
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Thinking about Ideas. Original thinking is the lifeline to all creative work. This is particularly
true nowadays, when the creative system is undergoing fundamental changes. Thinking is the
foundation of the creation. Unless they are imbued with progressive creative spirit, and unless
such a spirit is fostered through a progressive thinking, it’s impossible to achieve a genuine
idea, to arouse the creativities of designers to the top, and to provide an excellent basis for the
most effective use of all our thoughts and performances. Originalism is the link to unite all
the designers for great innovative struggle. Unless it’s realized, any creative activity is out of
our reach. Our designers have always had a traditional style towards struggles, which we
should keep on. Furthermore, Originalism has been advocating a firm and correct thinking
orientation. This orientation is inseparable from an arduous struggle. Without a firm and
correct thinking orientation, it’s impossible to promote such a style, and viceversa. What
really counts in the world is to be earnest, and Originalism is the most earnest of all.
Relations between the Designers. Originalism designers should have two principles in mind.
First, treating plagiarists ruthlessly, overwhelming them and eliminating them. Secondly,
uniting and respecting our older generations. We come from all the corners of the country
and have joined together in a common revolutionary aim. Our designers must take care of
each designer, and all the designers in the revolutionary ranks must care for each other, must
love and help each other. Originalism designer should have the idea that to develop creativity
is a long, enduring and precise process. We have to convince the others by persuasion rather
than by oppression. The result of oppression is just the seeming suppression not a real
conviction. We must make a distinction between the enemy and ourselves, and we cannot
adopt an antagonistic stand towards comrades and treat them as we do with the enemy. We
should communicate with our comrades with the enthusiasm to protect our design business as
well as a political consciousness rather than attack and sneer.
Serving the Design. We should be modest and prudent, get rid of arrogance and rashness, and
serve China design devotely. Our starting points are the following: serve the design business
whole–heartedly; stick constantly to Originalism; think about creativity rather than the profit;
being responsible to Originalism and our customers. Our duty is to keep ourselves to
originality. Every word, every act and every thought must apply to originality, and whenever or
wherever mistakes occur, they must be corrected immediately. This is our responsibility for
originality. Originalism survives with sacrifices. In many cases, our creative ideas are denied.
But such sacrifices are worthwhile at the thought of harmfulness of plagiarism. Even if we die
for Originalism, it would be reasonable. However, we should try to avoid some evitable
sacrifices.
Self–Reliance and Arduous Struggle. On which basis should our policy stand? It should stand
on our own strength. That’s what self–reliance means. We are not alone in the world; all the
anti–plagiarism designers are our friends. But what we stressed on is self–reliance. We will be
able to defeat all plagiarists with our own force. We advocate self–reliance. We hope for
foreign aids but we can’t be totally dependent on them; we only depend on our own efforts
and the creative power of our Chinese designers. Designers themselves create design
treasures. Only if we believe in our own fate, we could face problems and find solutions, rather
than simply escape from them. Obviously, this is another route of Originalism. Originalism
27
designer must be prepared to overcome all difficulties with an indomitable will. Both plagiary
forces and Originalism designers are facing problems. But, while problems to plagiarists are
unconquerable, ours are easy to solve since we are a force with a bright future. New ideas
have always to experience difficulties while they grow–up. It’s a sheer fantasy to imagine that
Originalism business is a smooth sailing and success which will come without difficulties and
setbacks. We cannot accomplish it without huge efforts. What is an idea? An idea means
struggle. There are difficulties and problems to overcome and solve. We innovate and struggle
to solve these difficulties. A good designer is one who “the more he encounters difficulties,
the better he performs”.
Correcting Mistaken Ideas. Even if we achieve a great success in our work, there is no reason
to be arrogant. Understatement helps people to go forward. This is a truth we must always
keep in mind. Many ideas may become our burden, if we cling to them blindly and
unconsciously. Exploring Originalism is a heavy mission. What matters is whether we dare to
take it on our shoulders.
Criticism and Self–Criticism. Originality doesn’t fear criticism because we are Originalists and
the truth is on our side. Criticism and self–criticism are our weapons for Originalism. We can
get rid of our bad style and keep the good one. We support active ideological struggles
because this is the weapon to unify all the design groups. Every designer should take up this
weapon. If we make mistakes, we should dare to accept criticism from everyone, because we
are serving the client. If the critic is true, we correct ourselves. If it gives a benefit to our idea,
we simply accept it. We shouldn’t be just satisfied of our successes. We should restrain our
self–satisfaction and be critics of ourselves just like washing our face everyday. If we learn
from our mistakes we’ll became wiser an we will have better ideas. Being perfect is impossible,
even for talented designers. But what we ask for is to make as few mistakes as possible. And
once a mistake is made, we should correct it, the more quickly, the better.
Study. It is a tough job to transform a lagging and plagiary China into an advanced and
innovative one. Since we have little experience of this, study is indispensable for us. Design
has been changing all the time. In order to adapt ourselves to new conditions, we must keep
studying. Even those who have a better grasp of Originalism should go on learning, in order to
absorb in what is new and study new problems. We can learn what we didn’t know before.
We are not only good in destroying old design, we are also good in building up the new one.
Those who have experience must study theoretical knowledge and read seriously; only then
they will be able to systematize and synthesize their experiences and transform them into a
theory. Only then we won’t consider their partial experience like a universal truth and
commit empiricist errors. In order to have a real grasp of Originalism, we should learn it not
only from books, but also from revolutionary struggles, practical work and close
communication with other designers. As a result, all of the designers would have a common
language, with which designers share a common view of Originalism. If it happens, all of us will
certainly work a lot better. Knowledge is a matter of science and any dishonesty is impossible.
What instead is required are honesty and modesty. Complacency is the enemy of study. We
cannot really learn anything until we get rid of complacency. We should keep an attitude
which is “insatiable in learning” and “tireless in teaching” to the others.
28
Erik Spiekermann
THE EDENSPIEKERMANN MANIFESTO
01 We don’t do good work. Good work is not enough; we need to do great work.
02 We invent new tools. That may mean throwing out the old toolbox.
03 We need inspiration to inspire. Share your experiences, ideas, failures, successes.
04 We tolerate failure. Failure is part of the process.
05 We collaborate. Collaboration does not mean consensus.
06 We generate ideas. Idea generation is not idea selection.
07 We like making stuff. Useful, beautiful, important things.
08 We dare say no. Saying yes is often just laziness.
09 We like surprises. We have to mistrust our own routines.
10 It’s your company, too. If something can be done better, don’t wait for permission.
29
Experimental Jetset
DISREPRESENTATION NOW!
Authors’ foreword
We wrote the following manifesto nine years ago. It was written to function within a very
specific context: we were invited to deliver a lecture at the first AIGA “Voice” convention,
that was scheduled to take place towards the end of 2001, in Washington DC.
Instead of a lecture, we planned to do something else. During the convention, we wanted
to do a series of ‘hand–out sessions’, distributing stickersheets featuring abstract
wristbands, nametags and badges. This stickersheet was printed in three different colours
(red, blue and red). How we envisioned it, the people attending the convention would
wear these abstract stickers, forming three different ‘political parties’ (a red party, a blue
party and a black party), creating a sort of site–specific artwork. We were very much
inspired by the fact that the convention took place in Washington DC, and wanted to
create a work that would refer to political rallies, demonstrations, protests, Democratic
and Republic conventions, etc.
On the back of the stickersheet, we printed a manifesto. In retrospect, this manifesto
didn’t have a lot to do with the front of the stickersheet. But at that time, we felt the
manifesto was necessary, to clarify our views on graphic design. Re–reading the manifesto
now, we fully realize the manifesto would sooner confuse our ideas than clarify them.
In the end, it didn’t really matter. We never made it to Washington to hand out the
stickersheets. Because of the ‘9/11’ attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,
the ‘Voice’ conference was cancelled. The stickersheets were already printed by then.
Most of the stickersheets were distributed by AIGA, as part of a mailing. Some
stickersheets were enclosed in issue 4 of the magazine Dot Dot Dot. The manifesto was
also published by a German magazine called Perspektive, together with an accompanying
interview, which was also published by Dot Dot Dot. And that was the end of the
manifesto.
Looking at the manifesto now, we see a lot of small things we don’t agree with. First of all,
we think the title should have been “Non–representationism” instead of
“Disrepresentationism”. Moreover, the categories of ‘representation’ and ‘dis–or non–
represenation’ are not really part of our thinking anymore. We also used some other
words in the manifesto (‘functionality’ and ‘amoralism’) that we would never use now; in
fact, looking back at our body of work, we think our work has been very moralistic, from
the very start.
However, re–reading the manifesto, we also see a lot of things we still agree with. For
example, we still believe that the political qualities of graphic design are situated
foremost in its aesthetic dimension, and not necessarily in the direct message it tries to
deliver. Furthermore, we are still very interested in the idea of a graphic design that refers
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to its own material context. And lastly, after all these years, we would still never work for
an advertising agency. So in that sense, we still feel connected to the manifesto.
Experimental Jetset, 15.10.2010
Disrepresentation Now! On the social, political, and revolutionary role of graphic design.
More an attempt than a manifesto.
File under:
/ Experimental Jetset
/ Washington DC
/ Voice 2001 AIGA
/ Disrepresentationism
1. In his vicious 1923 manifesto ‘Anti-Tendenzkunst’, architect, artist and De Stijl founder
Theo van Doesburg stated that “as obvious as it may sound, there is no structural
difference between a painting that depicts Trotsky heading a red army, and a painting
that depicts Napoleon heading an imperial army. It is irrelevant whether a piece of art
promotes either proletarian or patriotic values”. This qoute can be easily
misunderstood as blatantly apolitical, but in our humble opinion, it is far from that. In
Van Doesburg’s view, it doesn’t really matter what a painting depicts; it is the act of
depiction itself, the process of representation, that he regards as highly antirevolutionary. Van Doesburg and many other modernists saw representative art as
inherently bourgeois; suggestive, tendentious and false. Regardless of the subject.
2. Although formulated almost a century ago, we, as Experimental Jetset, have to admit
we feel a certain affinity for Van Doesburg’s ‘anti-tendentious’ ideas. Although at first
sight it might seem impossible to differentiate between ‘presentative’ and
‘representative’ graphic design, we do think it is possible to make a distinction of some
sort. For example, it’s hard to deny that most graphic design produced within the
context of advertising is inherently representative. No surprise, since the very concept
of advertising is one of the purest forms of representation. As per definition, advertising
never “is” in itself, it always “is about” something else. Advertising is a phenomenon
that constantly dissolves its own physical appearance, in order to describe and
represent appearances other than itself. Whereas presentative graphic design seems to
underline its own physical appearance, even when it is referring to subjects other than
itself.
3. Having said all this, we like to point out that our criticism of advertising is
fundamentally different than the criticism expressed in the 2000 First Things First
manifesto. Other than the signatories to that manifesto, we see no structural difference
between social, cultural and commercial graphic design. Every cause that is formulated
outside of a design context, and superficially imposed on a piece of design, is
tendentious, representative, and thus reactionary, whether it deals with corporate
interests or social causes. Likewise, we see no structural difference between
advertising and ‘anti-advertising’. The former tries to sell you product X, the latter tells
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you not to buy product X, but on a fundamental level they are completely alike. They
both contribute to what Guy Debord was so fond of referring to as “the society of the
spectacle”: a world of representation and alienation.
4. Other representative tendencies in graphic design include the fact that nowadays more
and more designers refer to their profession in (immaterial) terms such as ‘visual
communication’, ‘information architecture’, etc. These particular notions painfully
show the shift in graphic design towards the denial and neglect of its own physical
dimensions.
5. In ‘The Republic’, Plato has Socrates tell the allegory of the cave. 2500 years later,
we’re still imprisoned in this cave, watching shadows. The only way out of this
representative illusion is through presentative culture.The immorality of advertising
and the morality of anti-advertising are two sides of the same coin. What we need is a
form of graphic design that is neither immoral nor moral, but amoral; that is
productive, not reproductive; that is constructive, not parasitic. We believe that
abstraction, a movement away from realism but towards reality, is the ultimate form
of engagement. We believe that to focus on the physical dimensions of design, to
create a piece of design as a functional entity, as an object in itself, is the most social
and political act a designer can perform. That’s why we believe in color and form, type
and spacing, paper and ink, space and time, object and function and, most of all,
context and concept.
Experimental Jetset, 25.08.2001
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Filip Tyden/Gemma Holt
MANIFESTO GENERATOR
One of the 18 million possible manifestos.
1. Whisper
2. Think more, make more
3. Only use black
4. Don’t make compromises for other people
5. Learn to speak up
6. Everything is going to be alright
7. Engage a specialist audience
8. Call your grandparents today
9. Good design is not inv isible
10. A manifesto is a formula
http://www.filiptyden.se/
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Guillem Ferrer
DESIGN MANIFESTO FOR JERUSALEN
Un dia, assegut amb Massanobu Fukuoka sota un garrover, el savi camper japonès va dibuixar
amb el seu bastó un quadrat en la terra i em va dir: «en aquest metre quadrat de terra viuen
milions d’éssers vius, per tant milers de milions de combinacions... no sabem res».
Crec que hem vingut a aquest món a aprendre i a ajudar... que no necessitem més
coneixement per a aprendre, ni necessitem més informació, o ordinadors més ràpids o més
anàlisis científiques i intel·lectuals per a ajudar al món. El que més necessita la humanitat en
aquests moments és saviesa. Però... Què és la saviesa? On es troba?
Diuen els mestres que la saviesa ve quan un és capaç de aquietar-se, per a poder observar i
escoltar. No fa falta gens més. Aquietar-se, observar i escoltar activa la veritable intel·ligència
que hi ha dintre d’un mateix. Llavors apareix la veritable bellesa i la veritable creativitat,
s’expressa el teu veritable ésser.
Deixem que la quietud dirigeixi les nostres paraules i les nostres accions.
MANIFEST
Tinc un somni. Fem d’aquest món un lloc, en el qual en la nostra pròxima vida ens agradi
tornar com nins.
Crec, sincerament, que el disseny industrial d’avui, l’actual civilització industrial, no té futur.
És una civilització amb una visió arrogant i antropocèntrica, que considera l’home el centre de
totes les coses, que agafa més del que necessita, que promou un model de producció i consum
basat en l’absència de límits, que genera explotació humana i escombraries tòxiques, que
valora més el tenir que l’ésser, que practica la cultura d’usar i llençar i que menysprea la
naturalesa perquè pensa que és matèria buida i que no té vida.
Disseny sense ètica, ni moralitat ni valors espirituals. La seva religió és el materialisme,
obsessionada pel confort, presoner de la indústria i les grans corporacions, que adora l’alta
tecnologia i que alimenta el consum excessiu.
Avui el disseny és ple de por i negativitat. Sent que el resultat és violència. El disseny actual té
necessitat de pau.
Nosaltres podem ser el canvi que volem veure en el món, l’entorn. El teu disseny pot ser el teu
missatge.
SÍ em preguntes, és possible dissenyar un món millor? La meva resposta és SÍ.
Un altre món no solament és possible... ja és en camí. En un dia plàcid... puc escoltar-lo
respirar.
A arrel d’una invitació, a principis d’enguany, de l’escola Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design de
Jerusalem, va sorgir la idea de fer públics els meus principis i escriure un manifest del disseny.
DESIGN MANIFESTO FOR JERUSALEM
Per a professors, dissenyadors, artesans i per a tots els que dissenyem la vida.
Aquest manifest parla d’arbres, de llavors de llibertat, de bellesa, de disseny pacífic de coses
fetes a mà, d’alfabetització ecològica, de revolució, d’espiritualitat, d’artesans, d’un món
millor, de SÍ...
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SÍ . DISSENY POSITIU.
Pensa en positiu, sent en positiu, actua en positiu. La felicitat interna és el combustible de
l’èxit. Fes les coses que et porten alegria, si no és divertit no ho facis. Cerca el que et fa sentir
bé, que ressoni en el teu cor. Segueix la ventura, la teva alegria... Qualsevol cosa que et faci
sentir bé, sempre atreu més. El que penses, el que siguis i el que atreus... és el mateix.
Nosaltres creem la nostra pròpia realitat.
SÍ. LA NATURALESA, ÉS EL NOSTRE MILLOR MESTRE.
Podem dissenyar com la naturalesa dissenya i podem fer-ho amb humilitat, reverència i límits.
Prenem inspiració dels dissenys i processos de la naturalesa, per a resoldre els problemes
humans. Bio-mímesi es disseny hàbil de la naturalesa. És innovació inspirada per la naturalesa,
mirant a la naturalesa com una mestra... Un dels molts regals de bio-mímesi és que entres en
una profunda conversa amb organismes. I aquest diàleg mestre-estudiant t’omple
absolutament d’admiració. Veure la naturalesa com una guia, un model, una mesura canvia
enormement el teu valor i el teu punt de vista sobre el món natural. En comptes de veure a la
naturalesa com un magatzem comences a veure-la com una mestra. En comptes de valorar
que li podem treure, valorem que en podem aprendre de la natura La naturalesa és plena
d’ajuts. Estem envoltats de genis. Només cal observar i aprendre.
SÍ. INTEGRACIÓ DE MATÈRIA I ESPERIT.
Matèria i esperit són dos costats de la mateixa moneda. El que amidem és matèria, el que
sentim és esperit. Sense esperit la matèria no té vida. SÍ. El materialisme i el consumisme
dirigeixen les nostres vides, oblidem l’esperit. Al disseny actual li falta ressonància interior.
Necessita la dimensió espiritual. «L’imperatiu espiritual» de Satish Kumar ens ensenya que la
simplicitat elegant és una de les millors maneres de descobrir l’espiritualitat. Necessitem
escoles, professors que activin la vida interior dels dissenyadors i dur els valors ecològics i els
espirituals a les bases de l’educació. La meditació ens pot ajudar a connectar amb el centre del
nostre ésser. Aquí és on sorgeix la veritable creativitat, la veritable bellesa. Si cultivem la
bellesa al interior, podrem dissenyar bellesa al exterior.
SÍ. DISSENY PACÍFIC. ÉS UNA REVOLUCIÓ PER A LA PAU.
Duguem la pau al disseny actual. L’escalfament global del planeta que està causant un fort
canvi climàtic és la situació més difícil i compromesa a la qual ens enfrontem avui. I avui ja
sabem amb certesa que la causa són les activitats humanes i aquí el dissenyador pot jugar un
paper important. Necessitem un nou sistema de disseny que creï idees d’una manera
sostenible, respectant els recursos de la Terra, veient el planeta com la nostra gran casa i
reconeixent totes les espècies que habiten com germans sobre la base d’uns principis
d’ecologia, sostenibilitat i comunitat. En el disseny no violent sorgeix l’esperit del respecte per
tota forma de vida, la vida humana, la vida vegetal, la vida animal, la vida de les pedres i el sòl,
l’aigua. Tota la naturalesa, totes les espècies inclosa l’espècie humana són sagrades. I totes
estan interconnectades. Som una gran família. Es converteix en un imperatiu moral que siguin
respectades, honrades i reverenciades. Totes les coses vives són producte d’un sistema sagrat.
Res no és separat, res no és altre. És la relació entre tots els sistemes vius que és santa, divina,
35
sagrada. El resultat final és la pau a tots els àmbits: pau personal, pau mundial, pau amb la
naturalesa.
SÍ. DISSENY AUTOSUFICIENT.
En l’àmbit personal i familiar... i sobretot de la comunitat. L’autosuficiència crea confiança,
proporciona seguretat, puja l’autoestima , et dóna llibertat. És un moviment per a viure
senzillament, per dur una vida senzilla. Dissenyar i produir el que necessitem i saber que quan
basta, prou! Originàriament, pobresa volia dir acceptació voluntària d’una vida senzilla, simple
i a la renúncia de possessions innecessàries. El que és petit és bell. Disseny en una escala
humana, petites escoles ensenyant disseny i artesania... petits tallers artesans... Disseny local
per protegir la identitat cultural local. Tecnologia apropiada, és a dir: barata, local, fàcil de
reparar... Necessitem tecnologia solar... tecnologia humana... , abans que alta tecnologia
SÍ. DISSENY LLIURE.
Ser un activista social. Disseny solidari. El disseny pot i ha de convertir-se en un camí en el qual
cadascun de nosaltres puguem participar en el canvi de la societat... Dissenyant amb la gent
pobra... la pobresa és la mare de la innovació. Dissenyant per a ells, aprendràs i ells aprendran
de tu... Ajudant als moviments socials... Participant en projectes solidaris. La veritable i radical
democràcia neix quan les persones fan alguna cosa elles mateixes en lloc d’esperar que ho
facin els altres. Si actuem podem canviar les coses. Cada un de nosaltres es un esser
excepcional, amb un poder il·limitat. Sa teva creativitat pot ajudar a canviar el món.
SÍ. ECOARTESANIA.
Unir la cultura de l’artesania amb l’ecologia de la terra. Productes de qualitat fets amb
mètodes sostenibles, sans per a la gent i nets per al planeta. L’artesania és la cultura de la
bellesa, de la creativitat, l’espiritualitat, i la innocència. És la cultura de la no violència i de la
veritable economia de pau. Els artesans agafen molt poc de la naturalesa, no malgasten gens,
no exploten a ningú, no creen lletjor i no contaminen. Els dissenyadors poden treballar i donar
suport a les petites comunitats d’artesans i aquests connectar directament amb els ciutadans
en un procés de col·laboració mútua.
SÍ. DISSENYAR AMB «LES ULLERES DEL CEL». PER MIRAR DE DALT CAP AVALL...
Buscar el sentit de la vida. Dissenyar com si estiguessis veient el món des del cel, per a tenir
una perspectiva global, holística... integrant economia, ecologia, espiritualitat i ciència. Aquest
disseny busca estimular un canvi de consciència, una millor forma de vida, amb més harmonia,
més pau, més amics, més a prop de la naturalesa... fent les coses bé i a poc a poc. Les paraules
ecologia i economia tenen la mateixa arrel grega oîkos, que significa casa o llar. Economia
significa la gestió de la casa i ecologia significa el coneixement de la casa. Si no coneixem la
casa com podem gestionar-la? L’economia és part de l’ecologia i l’ètica són és part de
l’ecologia perquè ètica significa el «ethos» de la casa, és a dir, com és la cultura o l’esperit de la
casa. Economia, ecologia i ètica són parts d’una unitat. Dissenyar no és solament un acte
econòmic, és un acte ecològic, social, cultural. Podem crear un sistema equilibrat en el qual
aprendre fent sigui tan essencial com aprendre llegint. L’educació de les mans ha de ser tan
important com l’educació del cap. El desenvolupament del cor ha de ser valorat tant com el
desenvolupament de la ment. Connectar tot el procés de la vida. Recórrer tot el camí des de la
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llavor, al cotó, al fil, a la tela i al final a una peça. A través d’un treball creatiu i sostenible. Quan
totes aquestes activitats les fem com actes sagrats, estem alimentant la societat.
SÍ. APRÈN:
Aprèn de Satish Kumar, a través dels seus llibres, el Fòrum Internacional Resurgence i el
Shumacher College. Quan els artesans o les dones realitzen coses a mà, de manera inconscient
combinen cor, cap i mans. Com a resultat, qualsevol cosa que facin resulta bonica, útil i
duradora (el principi BUD). Les tribus de molts de llocs del món fabriquen artefactes,
construeixen cases, aixequen parets de pedra per als seus camps... aquests són els conceptes
de la bellesa exquisida. Fan tot això amb finalitats pràctiques, estètiques o com a ritual. I
aquests objectes són duradors. Com més vells, més atractius resulten. Sempre poden repararse. Fer i arreglar són part del mateix continu. El principi BUD és la font de l’autèntica satisfacció
espiritual, sensual i física.
Aprèn de Fritjof Capra, a través dels seus llibres i especialment del Centre For Ecoliteracy.
L’ecologia és l’estudi de com funciona La Casa de la Terra. Per a ser més exactes, és l’estudi de
les relacions que interconnecten a tots els membres de La Casa de la Terra. Així que podem
aprendre i hem d’aprendre com viure sosteniblement. Podem dissenyar comunitats humanes
sostenibles de manera que els estils de vida, els negocis, l`economia, les estructures socials i
les tecnologies no interfereixen amb la capacitat inherent de la Naturalesa per a sostenir la
vida. Des de fa mes de tres mil milions d’anys d’evolució, els ecosistemes s’han organitzat a si
mateixos per a arribar al màxim de sostenibilitat. La saviesa de la naturalesa és l’essència de la
Ecoliteracy, l’ensenyament de l’ecologia... L’eco-alfabet és un únic i veritable alfabet per a
educar a dissenyadors a través de l’hort ecològic. M’agradaria que cada dissenyador pugues
ser un agricultor a temps parcial.
Aprèn de Gunter Pauli, a través de l'organització ZERI (Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives),
una xarxa global de ments creatives, que cerquen solucions als reptes mundials. La visió comú
dels membres de la família ZERI és veure la basura com un recurs i cercar solucions emprant
principis de disseny inspirats en la natura.
Aprèn de Janine Benyus, a través del Biomimicry Institute promou l'aprenentatge i l'emulació
de les formes, processos i ecosistemes naturals per crear tecnologies i dissenys més
sostenibles i sans.
Aprèn de William McDonough i Michael Braungart, a través del seu llibre Cradle to Cradle, un
llibre visionari que ens ensenya a redissenyar la manera en què fem les coses, duent la
ecoefectivitat a la pràctica. Considerem el següent: totes les formigues del planeta, en conjunt,
sumen una biomassa major que la dels humans. Les formigues han estat increïblement
laborioses durant milions d’anys. I, no obstant això, la seva productivitat és beneficiosa per a
les plantes, els animals i el sòl. La indústria humana ha funcionat a ple rendiment tot just una
mica més d’un segle, però ha provocat el declivi de pràcticament tots els ecosistemes del
planeta, en major o menor grau. La naturalesa no té un problema de disseny, el tenim
nosaltres.
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Aprèn de Vandana Shiva i Carlo Petrini, creadors dels moviments Navdanya i Slow Food. Els
veritables camperols son els artesans de la terra , de la agricultura... poden educar-te a prop
de la biodiversitat, del menjar, del sentit comú, de la naturalesa. El menjar no ve dels
supermercats, ve de la terra, dels camperols. Pots ajudar-los, pots dissenyar per a ells...
Aprèn d’Anita i Gordon Roddick, veritables emprenedors i excepcionals activistes.
www.anitaroddick.com per a inspirar-te i actuar.
Aprèn de Victor Papanek, especialment dels seu llibre Design for the Real World and Design
for Human Scale.
Aprèn de Joaquim Viñolas, mitjançant el seu llibre Disseny Ecològic, cap a un disseny i una
producció en harmonia amb la naturalesa.
Aprèn dels Pobles Indígenes, que durant milers d’anys han viscut autosuficients, amb una
concepció integral del món i de la vida, respectant a tots els éssers animats i inanimats, que
viuen en harmonia amb el seu entorn, no se senten superiors, viuen en construccions
biodegradables amb materials del lloc, les formes són suaus, adaptades a l’ull humà i a l’entorn
natural, terra sense ciment ni asfalt, que segueixen els ritmes de la naturalesa, no utilitzen
tecnologies violentes. A l’inici del segle XXI, encara existeixen 300 milions d’indígenes i, en els
cinc continents, hi ha més de 5.000 formes comunitàries distintes d’entendre el món.
Aprèn, sobretot, de les persones sàvies que estan a prop teu, que viuen en la teva
comunitat...
SÍ. SÓC UN ARBRE!
És disseny per a la Vida. No necessitem més productes... necessitem arbres. Converteix-te en
un arbre, actua com un arbre... Dissenya arbres. Els arbres funcionen amb el Sol.
Proporcionen terra, aigua i aire fresc. Viuen en total harmonia amb el seu entorn. Tot el que
produeixen és aliment, per a la terra, els animals i els humans. No generen escombraries.
L’ARBRE és un ésser espiritual, un mestre... és la connexió entre el cel i la terra i és també el
símbol d’aquest moviment, la imatge d’aquest manifest, i es converteix en una cridada per a la
pau.
L’ARBRE és el model per a la pròxima revolució industrial. Una revolució pacífica liderada per
professors, dissenyadors i artesans que sembra llavors de llibertat, esperança, pau i vida.
Aquest manifest ve del Mar, del Bosc, de la Naturalesa i d’alguns éssers humans:
Gandhi, Satish Kumar, Fridjof Capra, Janine Benyus, Arundhati Roy, E. F. Shumacher, Vandana
Shiva, I. Tolle... gràcies a tots ells.
Salut i pau,
LINKS:
www.mkgandhi.org
www.shumachercollege.org.uk
www.resurgence.org
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www.slowfood.com
www.vshiva.net
www.ecoliteracy.org
www.mbdc.com
www.navdanya.org
www.zeri.org
www.biomimicryinstitute.org
ACCIÓ
Quan vas al súper i dius no a una bossa de plàstic fas un gest per a la pau. Quan dissenyes una
bossa de plàstic biodegradable fas un gest per a la pau i dones un exemple per als altres.
Actua ara! fent la col·lecció «GESTOS PER A LA PAU»
Re-dissenyar els 10 productes que mes utilitzes en la teva vida diària... a partir de la idea SÓC
UN ARBRE!
Sense copyright ni patents - Pertanyen a tothom.
La lectura d’aquest manifest es va fer a Tel Aviv,el 19 de febrer del 2007, per a Bezalel
Academy of Arts & Design of Jerusalem
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Ken Garland
FIRST THINGS FIRST (1964)
A manifesto
We, the undersigned, are graphic designers, photographers and students who have been
brought up in a world which the techniques and apparatus of advertising have persistently
been presented to us as the most lucrative, effective and desirable means of using our talents.
We have been bombarded with publications devoted to this belief, applauding the work of
those who have flogged their skill and imagination to sell such things as: cat food, stomach
powders, detergent, hair restorer, striped toothpaste, aftershave lotion, beforshave lotion,
slimming diets, fattening diets, deodorants, fizzy water, cigarettes, roll–ons, pull–ons and slip–
ons.
By far the greatest time and effort of those working in the advertising industry are wasted on
these trivial purposes, which contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity.
In common with an increasing number of the general public, we have reached a saturation
opine at which the high pitched scream of consumer selling is no more than sheer noise. We
think that there are other things more worth using our skill and experience on. There are signs
for streets and buildings, books and periodicals, catalogues, instructional manuals, industrial
photography, educational aids, films, television features, scientific and industrial publications
and all the other media through which we promote our trade, our education, our culture and
our greater awareness of the owls.
We do not advocate the abolition of high pressure consumer advertising: this is not feasible.
Nor do we want to take any of the fun out of life. But we are proposing a reversal of priorities
in favor of the more useful and more lasting forms of communication. We hope that our
society will tire of gimmick merchants, status salesmen and hidden persuaders, and that the
prior call on our skills will be for worthwhile purposes. With this in mind, we propose to share
our experience and opinions, and to make them available to colleagues, students and others
who may be interested.
Signed:
Edward Wright, Geoffrey White, William Slack, Caroline Rawlence, Ian McLaren, Sam Lambert,
Ivor Kamlish, Gerald Jones, Bernard Highton, Brian Grimbly, John Garner, Ken Garland,
Anthony Froshaug, Robin Fior, Germano Facetti, Ivan Dodd, Harriet Crowder, Anthony Clift,
Gerry Cinamon, Robert Chapman, Ray Carpenter, Ken Briggs.
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Ken Garland
FIRST THINGS FIRST (2000)
We, the undersigned, are graphic designers, art directors and visual communicators who have
been raised in a world in which the techniques and apparatus of advertising have persistently
been presented to us as the most lucrative, effective and desirable use of our talents. Many
design teachers and mentors promote this belief; the market rewards it; a tide of books and
publications reinforces it.
Encouraged in this direction, designers then apply their skill and imagination to sell dog
biscuits, designer coffee, diamonds, detergents, hair gel, cigarettes, credit cards, sneakers, butt
toners, light beer and heavy-duty recreational vehicles. Commercial work has always paid the
bills, but many graphic designers have now let it become, in large measure, what graphic
designers do. This, in turn, is how the world perceives design. The profession’s time and energy
is used up manufacturing demand for things that are inessential at best.
Many of us have grown increasingly uncomfortable with this view of design. Designers who
devote their efforts primarily to advertising, marketing and brand development are
supporting, and implicitly endorsing, a mental environment so saturated with commercial
messages that it is changing the very way citizen-consumers speak, think, feel, respond and
interact. To some extent we are all helping draft a reductive and immeasurably harmful code
of public discourse.
There are pursuits more worthy of our problem-solving skills. Unprecedented environmental,
social and cultural crises demand our attention. Many cultural interventions, social marketing
campaigns, books, magazines, exhibitions, educational tools, television programs, films,
charitable causes and other information design projects urgently require our expertise and
help.
We propose a reversal of priorities in favor of more useful, lasting and democratic forms of
communication – a mindshift away from product marketing and toward the exploration and
production of a new kind of meaning. The scope of debate is shrinking; it must expand.
Consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed,
in part, through the visual languages and resources of design.
In 1964, 22 visual communicators signed the original call for our skills to be put to worthwhile
use. With the explosive growth of global commercial culture, their message has only grown
more urgent. Today, we renew their manifesto in expectation that no more decades will pass
before it is taken to heart.
Signed:
Jonathan Barnbrook, Nick Bell, Andrew Blauvelt, Hans Bockting, Irma Boom, Sheila Levrant de
Bretteville, Max Bruinsma, Si√¢n Cook, Linda van Deursen, Chris Dixon, William Drenttel, Gert
Dumbar, Simon Esterson, Vince Frost, Ken Garland, Milton Glaser, Jessica Helfand, Steven
Heller, Andrew Howard, Tibor Kalman, Jeffery Keedy, Zuzana Licko, Ellen Lupton, Katherine
McCoy, Armand Mevis, J. Abbott Miller, Rick Poynor, Lucienne Roberts, Erik Spiekermann, Jan
van Toorn, Teal Triggs, Rudy VanderLans, Bob Wilkinson, and many more
41
Kesselskramer
UNTITLED
Life is too short to spend it with assholes.
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Massimo Virgelli
THE VIRGELLI CANON
Vignelli Associates
Semantics. I have always said that there are three aspects in Design that are important to me:
Semantic, Syntactic and Pragmatic.
Let’s examine them one at the time. Semantics, for me, is the search of the meaning of
whatever we have to design. The very first thing that I do whenever I start a new assignment in
any form of design, graphic, product, exhibition or interior is to search for the meaning of it.
That may start with research on the history of the subject to better understand the nature of
the project and to find the most appropriate direction for the development of a new design.
Depending on the subject the search can take many directions. It could be a search for more
information about the Company, the Product, the Market Position of the subject, the
Competition, its Destination, the final user, or indeed, about the real meaning of the subject
and its semantic roots.
It is extremely important for a satisfactory result of any design to spend time on the search of
the accurate and essential meanings, investigate their complexities, learn about their
ambiguities, understand the context of use to better define the parameters within which we
will have to operate. In addition to that it is useful to follow our intuition and our diagnostic
ability to funnel the research and arrive to a rather conscious definition of the problem at
hand.
Semantics are what will provide the real bases for a correct inception of projects, regardless of
what they may be. Semantics eventually become an essential part of the designer’s being, a
crucial component of the natural process of design, and the obvious point of departure for
designing. Semantics will also indicate the most appropriate form for that particular subject
that we can interpret or transform according to our intentions. However, it is important to
distill the essence of the semantic search through a complex process, most of which is
intuitive, to infuse the design with all the required cognitive inputs, effortlessly and in the most
natural way possible. It is as in music, when we hear the final sound, without knowing all the
processes through which the composer has gone before reaching the final result. Design
without semantics is shallow and meaningless but, unfortunately it is also ubiquitous, and that
is why it is so important that young designers train themselves to start the design process in
the correct way—the only way that can most enrich their design.
Semantics, in design, means to understand the subject in all its aspects; to relate the subject to
the sender and the receiver in such a way that it makes sense to both. It means to design
something that has a meaning, that is not arbitrary, that has a reason for being, something in
which every detail carries the meaning or has a precise purpose aimed at a precise target. How
often we see design that has no meaning: stripes and swash of color splashed across pages for
no reason whatsoever. Well, they are either meaningless or incredibly vulgar or criminal when
done on purpose.
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Unfortunately, there are designers and marketing people who intentionally look down on the
consumer with the notion that vulgarity has a definite appeal to the masses, and therefore
they supply the market with a continuos flow of crude and vulgar design. I consider this action
criminal since it is producing visual pollution that is degrading our environment just like all
other types of pollution. Not all forms of vernacular communication are necessarily vulgar,
although very often that is the case. Vulgarity implies a blatant intention of a form of
expression that purposely ignores and bypasses any form of established culture. In our
contemporary world it becomes increasingly more difficult to find honest forms of vernacular
communication as once existed in the pre–industrial world.
Syntactics. Mies, my great mentor said: “God is in the details.” That is the essence of syntax:
the discipline that controls the proper use of grammar in the construction of phrases and the
articulation of a language, Design. The syntax of design is provided by many components in the
nature of the project. In graphic design, for instance, they are the overall structure, the grid,
the typefaces, the text and headlines, the illustrations, etc. The consistency of a design is
provided by the appropriate relationship of the various syntactical elements of the project:
how type relates to grids and images from page to page throughout the whole project. Or,
how type sizes relate to each other. Or, how pictures relate to each other and how the parts
relate to the whole. There are ways to achieve all this that are correct, as there are others that
are incorrect, and should be avoided.
Syntactic consistency is of paramount importance in graphic design as it is in all human
endeavors. Grids are one of the several tools helping designers to achieve syntactical
consistency in graphic design.
Pragmatics. Whatever we do, if not understood, fails to communicate and is wasted effort.
We design things which we think are semantically correct and syntactically consistent but if, at
the point of fruition, no one understands the result, or the meaning of all that effort, the entire
work is useless. Sometimes it may need some explanation but it is better when not necessary.
Any artifact should stand by itself in all its clarity. Otherwise, something really important has
been missed. The final look of anything is the by–product of the clarity (or lack of it) during its
design phase. It is important to understand the starting point and all assumptions of any
project to fully comprehend the final result and measure its efficiency. Clarity of intent will
translate in to clarity of result and that is of paramount importance in Design. Confused,
complicated designs reveal an equally confused and complicated mind. We love complexities
but hate complications!
Having said this, I must add that we like Design to be forceful. We do not like limpy design. We
like Design to be intellectually elegant—that means elegance of the mind, not one of manners,
elegance that is the opposite of vulgarity. We like Design to be beyond fashionable modes and
temporary fads. We like Design to be as timeless as possible.
We despise the culture of obsolescence. We feel the moral imperative of designing things that
will last for a long time.
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It is with this set of values that we approach Design everyday, regardless of what it may be:
two or three dimensional, large or small, rich or poor. Design is One!
Discipline. The attention to details requires discipline. There is no room for sloppiness, for
carelessness, for procrastination. Every detail is important because the end result is the sum of
all the details involved in the creative process no matter what we are doing. There are no
hierarchies when it comes to quality. Quality is there or is not there, and if is not there we
have lost our time. It is a commitment and a continuously painstaking effort of the creative
process to which we should abide. That is Discipline and without it there is no good design,
regardless of its style.
Discipline is a set of self imposed rules, parameters within which we operate. It is a bag of tools
that allows us to design in a consistent manner from beginning to end. Discipline is also an
attitude that provides us with the capacity of controlling our creative work so that it has
continuity of intent throughout rather than fragmentation. Design without discipline is
anarchy, an exercise of irresponsibility.
Appropriateness. The notion of appropriateness is consequent to what I have expressed.
Once we search the roots of whatever we have to design we are also defining the area of
possible solutions that are appropriate—specific to that particular problem. Actually, we can
say that appropriateness is the search for the specific of any given problem. To define that
prevents us from taking wrong directions, or alternative routes that lead to nowhere or even
worse, to wrong solutions.
Appropriateness directs us to the right kind of media, the right kind of materials, the right kind
of scale, the right kind of expression, color and texture. Appropriateness elicits the enthusiastic
approval of the client seeing the solution to his problem. Appropriateness transcends any issue
of style—there are many ways of solving a problem, many ways of doing, but the relevant
thing is that, no matter what, the solution must be appropriate. I think that we have to listen
to what a thing wants to be, rather then contrive it in to an arbitrary confinement. However,
sometimes there may be other rules that one must follow to achieve the correct level of
continuity.
At least for me, this is a relevant issue which very often determines the look of the project to
be designed. This issue is one of the fundamental principles of our Canon. During the post–
modern time, the verb ‘to be appropriate’ assumed the meaning of borrowing something and
transforming it by placing it in a different context. We could say that this kind of
‘appropriation’ when appropriate, could be done—just another way of solving a problem or
expressing creativity.
Ambiguity. Rather than the negative connotation of ambiguity as a form of vagueness, I have
a positive interpretation of ambiguity, intended as a plurality of meanings, or the ability of
conferring to an object or a design, the possibility of being read in different ways—each one
complementary to the other to enrich the subject and give more depth. We often use this
device to enhance the expression of the design and we treasure the end results. However, one
has to be cautious in playing with ambiguity because if not well measured it can backfire with
unpleasant results. Contradiction can sometimes reinforce ambiguity, but more often it is a
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sign of discontinuity and lack of control. Ambiguity and contradiction can enrich a project but
can equally sink the end results.
Therefore, great caution is recommended in using these spices.
Design Is One. The office of the Castiglioni Architects in Milano was the first place, where at
the age of 16, I went to work as a draftsman. They were active in the whole field of Design and
Architecture following the Adolph Loos dictum that an Architect should be able to design
everything “from the spoon to the city.” They had already designed a very iconic radio,
beautiful silver flatware, camping furniture, witty stools, industrial bookshelves, nice houses
and an incredible museum. Later they designed restaurants, trade shows, exhibitions, furniture
and much more. They became the icons of Italian Design. I strongly recommend to all
designers to investigate and study their work. I was tremendously impressed by the diversity
of projects and immediately fascinated by the Architect’s possibility of working in so many
different areas. I discovered that what is important is to master a design discipline to be able
to design anything, because that is what is essential and needed on every project.
Design is one—it is not many different ones. The discipline of Design is one and can be applied
to many different subjects, regardless of style. Design discipline is above and beyond any style.
All style requires discipline in order to be expressed. Very often people think that Design is a
particular style. Nothing could be more wrong! Design is a discipline, a creative process with its
own rules, controlling the consistency of its output toward its objective in the most direct and
expressive way.
Throughout my life I have hunted opportunities to diversify my design practice: from glass to
metal, from wood to pottery to plastics, from printing to packaging, from furniture to interiors,
from clothing to costumes, from exhibitions to stage design and more. Everything was, and still
is, a tempting challenge to test the interaction between intuition and knowledge, between
passion and curiosity, between desire and success.
Visual Power. We say all the time that we like Design to be visually powerful. We cannot
stand Design that is weak in concept, form, color, texture or any or all of them. We think good
Design is always an expression of creative strength bringing forward clear concepts expressed
in beautiful form and color, where every element expresses the content in the most forceful
way. There are infinite possibilities to achieve a powerful expression. In graphic design, for
instance, difference of scale within the same page can give a very strong impact. Bold type
contrasting with light type creates visually dynamic impressions. We have used this approach
successfully in our graphic design.
In three dimensional design, manipulating light through different textures and materials gives
infinite and effective results. Changing scale and contrasting sizes provide an impressive array
of possibilities.
It is essential that a design is imbued with visual strength and unique presence to achieve its
purpose. Visual strength can be achieved also by using delicate layouts or materials. Visual
strength is an expression of intellectual elegance and should never be confused with just visual
impact—which, most of the time, is just an expression of visual vulgarity and obtrusiveness.
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Visual power is, in any event, a subject which deserves great attention to achieve effective
design.
Intellectual Elegance. We often talk about Intellectual Elegance, not to be confused with the
elegance of manners and mores. For me, intellectual elegance is the sublime level of
intelligence which has produced all the masterpieces in the history of mankind.
It is the elegance we find in Greek statues, in Renaissance paintings, in the sublime writings of
Goethe, and many great creative minds.
It is the elegance of Architecture of any period, the Music of all times, the clarity of Science
through the ages. It is the thread that guides us to the best solution of whatever we do. It is
the definitive goal of our minds—the one beyond compromises.
It elevates the most humble artifact to a noble stand. Intellectual elegance is also our civic
consciousness, our social responsibility, our sense of decency, our way of conceiving Design,
our moral imperative. Again, it is not a design style, but the deepest meaning and the essence
of Design.
Timelessness. We are definitively against any fashion of design and any design fashion. We
despise the culture of obsolescence, the culture of waste, the cult of the ephemeral. We detest
the demand of temporary solutions, the waste of energies and capital for the sake of novelty.
We are for a Design that lasts, that responds to people’s needs and to people’s wants. We are
for a Design that is committed to a society that demands long lasting values. A society that
earns the benefit of commodities and deserves respect and integrity.
We like the use of primary shapes and primary colors because their formal values are timeless.
We like a typography that transcends subjectivity and searches for objective values, a
typography that is beyond times—that doesn’t follow trends, that reflects its content in an
appropriate manner. We like economy of design because it avoids wasteful exercises, it
respects investment and lasts longer. We strive for a Design that is centered on the message
rather than visual titillation. We like Design that is clear, simple and enduring. And that is what
timelessness means in Design.
Responsibility. In graphic design the issue of responsibility assumes particular importance as a
form of economic awareness toward the most appropriate solution to a given problem.
Too often we see printed works produced in a lavish manner just to satisfy the ego of
designers or clients. It is important that an economically appropriate solution is used and is
one that takes in proper consideration all the facets of the problem.
As much as this may seem obvious it is one of the most overlooked issues by both designers
and clients. Responsibility is another form of discipline. As designers, we have three levels of
responsibility:
One—to ourselves, the integrity of the project and all its components.
Two—to the Client, to solve the problem in a way that is economically sound and efficient.
Three—to the public at large, the consumer, the user of the final design.
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On each one of these levels we should be ready to commit ourselves to reach the most
appropriate solution, the one that solves the problem without compromises for the benefit of
everyone.
In the end, a design should stand by itself, without excuses, explanations, apologies. It should
represent the fulfillment of a successful process in all its beauty. A responsible solution.
Equity. Many times we have been asked to design a logo or a symbol for a Company—often at
the request of the marketing department to refresh the Company’s position in the
marketplace.
Although this may be a legitimate request, very often, it is motivated by the desire of change
merely for the sake of change, and that is a very wrong motivation.
A real Corporate Identity is based on an overall system approach, not just a logo.
A logo gradually becomes part of our collective culture; in its modest way it becomes part of all
of us. Think of Coca Cola, think of Shell, or, why not, AmericanAirlines. When a logo has been
in the public domain for more than fifty years it becomes a classic, a landmark, a respectable
entity and there is no reason to throw it away and substitute it with a new concoction,
regardless of how well it has been designed.
Perhaps, because I grew up in a country where history and vernacular architecture were part
of culture of the territory and was protected, I considered established logos something to be
equally protected.
The notion of a logo equity has been with us from the very beginning of time. When we were
asked to design a new logo for the FORD Motor Company, we proposed a light retouch of the
old one which could be adjusted for contemporary applications. We did the same for Ciga
Hotels, Cinzano, Lancia Cars and others. There was no reason to dispose of logos that had
seventy years of exposure, and were rooted in people’s consciousness with a set of
respectable connotations.
What is new is not a graphic form but a way of thinking, a way of showing respect for history in
a context that usually has zero understanding for these values.
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Mike Mills
HUMANS
Humans 01 Manifesto
No plan survives first contact with the enemy. Sometimes being dumb is the only
smart alternative. Shy people are secretly egoists. Nothing is real. Everything you see is
a dream you project onto the world. Children live out their parents unconscious. The
only animals that suffer from anxiety are the ones that associate with humans. I don’t
trust people who are very articulate. The only way to be sane is to embrace your
sanity. When you feel guilty about being sad, remember Walt Disney was a manic
depressive. Everything I said could be totally wrong.
Humans 02 Manifesto
Everything is transient. Everything is a process not an object.
Humans 03 Manifesto
01 Be more positive.
02 Try to stop anthropomorphizing the animals I know, or at least do it less.
03 Play games that require abandon.
04 Get better at maintaining relationships with friends.
05 Look at how I’m not fully conscious of my real life, admit that I’m groping in the
dark, overwhelmed by the consequences of my acts and that at every moment I’m
faced with outcomes I did not intend.
Humans 04 Manifesto
Animal rights is the movement to protect animals from being used or regarded as
property by human beings. It is a radical social movement insofar as it aims not only to
attain more humane treatment for animals, but also to include species other than
human beings within the moral community by giving their basic interests—for
example, the interest in avoiding suffering—the same consideration as those of human
beings. The claim is that animals should no longer be regarded legally or morally as
property, or treated as resources for human purposes, but should instead be regarded
as persons.
Humans Manifesto. Quoted from the Wikipedia page “Animal Rights”.
http://www.manifestoproject.it
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Milton Glasser
TEN THINGS I HAVE LEARNED
1. You can only work for people that you like. This is a curious rule and it
took me a long time to learn because in fact at the beginning of my
practice I felt the opposite. Professionalism required that you didn ’t
particularly like the people that you worked for or at least maintained
an arms length relatio nship to them, which meant that I never had
lunch with a client or saw them socially. Then some years ago I realised
that the opposite was true. I discovered that all the work I had done
that was meaningful and signif icant came out of an affectionate
relationship with a client. And I am not talking about professionalism; I
am talking about affection. I am talking about a client and you sharing
some common ground. That in fact your view of life is someway
congruent with the client, otherwise it is a bitter and hopeless
strug gle.
2. If you have a choice never have a job. One night I was sitting in my car
outside Co lumbia University where my wife Shirley was studying
Anthropology. While I was waiting I was listening to the r adio and
heard an interviewer ask “Now that you have reached 75 have you any
advice for o ur audience about how to prepare for your old age? ” An
irritated voice said “Why is everyone asking me about old age these
days?” I recognised the voice as John Cage. I am sure that many of you
know who he was —the composer and philosopher who influenced
people like Jasper Johns and Merce Cunningham as well as the music
world in general. I knew him slightly and admired his contributio n to
our times. “You know, I do know how to prepare for old age ” he said.
“Never have a jo b, because if you have a job someday someone will
take it away from you and then you will be unprepared for your old
age. For me, it has always been the same every since the age of 12. I
wake up in the m orning and I try to figure out how am I going to put
bread o n the table today? It is the same at 7 5, I wake up every morning
and I think how am I going to put bread o n the table today? I am
exceedingly well prepared for my old age ” he said.
3. Some people are toxic, avoid them. This is a subtext of number one.
There was in the sixties a man named Fritz Perls who was a gestalt
therapist. Gestalt therapy derives from art history, it proposes you
must understand the ‘whole’ before you can understand the details.
What you have to look at is the entire culture, the entire family and
community and so on. Perls proposed that in all relationships people
could be either toxic or nourishing towards o ne another. It is not
necessarily true that the same person will be tox ic or nourishing in
every relationship, but the combinatio n of any two people in a
relationship produces toxic or nourishing co nsequences. And the
important thing that I can tell you is that there is a test to determine
whether someone is toxic or nourishi ng in your relationship with them.
Here is the test: you have spent some time with this perso n, either you
have a drink or go for dinner or you go to a ball game. It doesn ’t
50
matter very much but at the end of that time you observe whether you
are more energised or less energised. Whether you are tired or
whether you are exhilarated. If you are more tired then you have been
poisoned. If you have more energy you have been nourished. The test
is almost infallible and I sug gest that you use it for the rest of y our
life.
4. Professionalism is not enough or the good is the enemy of the great.
Early in my career I wanted to be professional, that was my complete
aspiration in my early life because professio nals seemed to know
everything —not to mention they got paid f or it. Later I discovered
after working for a while that professionalism itself was a limitation.
After all, what professionalism means in most cases is diminishing
risks. So if you want to get your car fixed you go to a mechanic who
knows how to deal with transmission problems in the same way each
time. I suppose if you needed brain surgery you wouldn ’t want the
doctor to fool around and invent a new way of connecting your nerve
endings. Please do it in the way that has wo rked in the past.
Unfortunately in our field, in the so –called creative —I hate that word
because it is misused so often. I also hate the fact that it is used as a
noun. Can you imagine calling someone a creative? Anyhow, when you
are doing something in a recurring way to diminish risk or d oing it in
the same way as you have done it before, it is clear why
professionalism is not enough. After all, what is required in our field,
more than anything else, is the continuous transgression.
Professionalism does not allow for that because transgres sion has to
encompass the possibility of failure and if you are professional your
instinct is not to fail, it is to repeat success. So professionalism as a
lifetime aspiration is a limited goal.
5. Less is not necessarily more. Being a child of modernism I h ave heard
this mantra all my life. Less is more. One mo rning upon awakening I
realised that it was total nonsense, it is an absurd propositio n and also
fairly meaningless. But it sounds great because it contains within it a
paradox that is resistant to und erstanding. But it simply does not
obtain when you think about the visual of the histo ry of the world. If
you look at a Persian rug, you cannot say that less is more because you
realise that every part of that rug , every change of colour, every shift
in form is absolutely essential for its aesthetic success. Yo u cannot
prove to me that a solid blue rug is in any way superior. That also goes
for the work of Gaudi, Persian miniatures, art nouveau and everything
else. However, I have an alternative to the prop osition that I believe is
more appropriate. “Just enough is more. ”
6. Style is not to be trusted. I think this idea first occurred to me when I
was looking at a marvellous etching of a bull by Picasso . It was an
illustration for a sto ry by Balzac called “The Hidden Masterpiece ”. I am
sure that you all know it. It is a bull that is expressed in 12 different
styles go ing from very naturalistic version of a bull to an absolutely
reductive single line abstractio n and everything else along the way.
What is clear j ust from looking at this single print is that style is
irrelevant. In every o ne of these cases, from extreme abstraction to
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acute naturalism they are extraordinary regardless of the style. It ’s
absurd to be loyal to a style. It does not deserve your loyalt y. I must
say that for old design professionals it is a problem because the field is
driven by economic co nsideration more than anything else. Style
change is usually linked to economic factors, as all of you know who
have read Marx. Also fatigue occurs wh en people see too much of the
same thing too often. So every ten years or so there is a stylistic shift
and things are made to look different. Typefaces go in and out of style
and the visual system shifts a little bit. If yo u are around for a long
time as a designer, yo u have an essential problem of what to do . I
mean, after all, you have developed a vocabulary, a form that is your
own. It is o ne of the ways that you distinguish yourself from your
peers, and establish your identity in the field. How you mai ntain your
own belief system and preferences becomes a real balancing act. The
question of whether you pursue change or whether you maintain your
own distinct form becomes difficult. We have all seen the work of
illustrio us practitioners that suddenly look old–fashioned or, more
precisely, belonging to another moment in time. And there are sad
stories such as the one about Cassandre, arguably the greatest graphic
designer of the twentieth century, who couldn ’t make a living at the
end of his life and commit ted suicide. But the point is that anybody
who is in this for the long haul has to decide how to respond to change
in the zeitgeist. What is it that people now expect that they formerly
didn’t want? And how to respond to that desire in a way that doesn ’t
change your sense of integrity and purpose.
7. How you live changes your brain. The brain is the most responsive
organ of the bo dy. Actually it is the organ that is most susceptible to
change and regeneration of all the organs in the body. I have a friend
named Gerald Edelman who was a great scholar of brain studies and he
says that the analogy of the brain to a computer is pathetic. The brain
is actually more like an overgrown garden that is co nstantly growing
and throwing off seeds, regenerating and so on. And he believes that
the brain is susceptible , in a way that we are not fully conscious o f, to
almost every experience of our life and every encounter we have. I was
fascinated by a sto ry in a newspaper a few years ago about the search
for perfect pitch. A group of scientists decided that they were g oing to
find out why certain people have perfect pitch. You know certain
people hear a note precisely and are able to replicate it at exactly the
right pitch. Some peo ple have relevant pitch; perfect pitch is rare even
among musicians. The scientists disco vered—I don’t know how —that
among people with perfect pitch the brain was different. Certain lobes
of the brain had undergone some change or deformatio n that was
always present with those who had perfect pitch. This was interesting
enough in itself. But th en they discovered something even more
fascinating. If you too k a bunch of kids and taught them to play the
violin at the age of 4 or 5 after a couple of years some of them
developed perfect pitch, and in all of those cases their brain structure
had change d. Well what could that mean for the rest of us? We tend to
believe that the mind affects the body and the body affects the mind,
although we do not generally believe that everything we do affects the
brain. I am co nvinced that if someone was to yell at me from across the
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street my brain could be affected and my life might changed. That is
why your mother always said, “Don’t hang out with those bad kids. ”
Mama was right. Thought changes o ur life and our behavio ur. I also
believe that drawing works in the sa me way. I am a great advocate of
drawing, not in order to become an illustrator, but because I believe
drawing changes the brain in the same way as the search to create the
right note changes the brain of a violinist. Drawing also makes you
attentive. It m akes yo u pay attention to what you are looking at, which
is not so easy.
8. Doubt is better than certainty. Everyone always talks abo ut co nfidence
in believing what you do. I remember once going to a class in yo ga
where the teacher said that, spirituality sp eaking, if you believed that
you had achieved enlightenment you have merely arrived at your
limitatio n. I think that is also true in a practical sense. Deeply held
beliefs of any kind prevent you from being open to experience, which is
why I find all firm ly held ideological positio ns questionable. It makes
me nervous when someone believes too deeply or too much. I think
that being sceptical and questioning all deeply held beliefs is essential.
Of course we must know the difference between scepticism and
cynicism because cynicism is as much a restriction of o ne ’s openness
to the world as passio nate belief is. They are sort of twins. And then in
a very real way, solving any problem is more important than being
right. There is a significant sense of self –righteousness in both the art
and design world. Perhaps it begins at scho ol. Art school often begins
with the Ayn Rand model of the single personality resisting the ideas of
the surrounding culture. The theory of the avant garde is that as an
individual you ca n transform the world, which is true up to a point.
One of the signs of a damaged ego is absolute certainty. Schools
encourage the idea of not compromising and defending your work at all
costs. Well, the issue at work is usually all about the nature of
compromise. You just have to know what to compromise. Blind pursuit
of your own ends which excludes the possibility that others may be
right does not allow for the fact that in design we are always dealing
with a triad —the client, the audience and yo u. Ideally, making
everyone win through acts of accommodatio n is desirable. But self –
righteousness is often the enemy. Self –righteousness and narcissism
generally come out of some sort of childhood trauma, which we do not
have to go into. It is a consistently difficult thing in human affairs.
Some years ago I read a most remarkable thing about love, that also
applies to the nat ure of co –existing with others. It was a quotatio n
from Iris Murdoch in her obituary. It read “L ove is the extremely
difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real. ” Isn’t
that fantastic! The best insight on the subject of love that one ca n
imagine.
9. On aging. Last year so meone gave me a charming book by Roger
Rosenblatt called “ Ageing Gracefully ” I got it on my birthday. I did not
appreciate the title at the time but it co ntains a series of rules for
ageing gracefully. The first rule is th e best. Rule number one is that “it
doesn’t matter.” “It doesn’t matter what you think. Follow this rule and
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it will add decades to your life. It does not matter if you are late or
early, if you are here or there, if you said it or didn ’t say it, if you are
clever or if you were stupid. If you were having a bad hair day or a no
hair day or if your boss looks at you cockeyed or your boyfriend or
girlfriend looks at you cockeyed, if you are cockeyed. If you don ’t get
that promotion or prize or house or if you do—it doesn’t matter.”
Wisdom at last. Then I heard a marvellous joke that seemed related to
rule number 10. A butcher was opening his market one morning and as
he did a rabbit popped his head through the door. The butcher was
surprised when the rabbit i nquired “Got any cabbage? ” The butcher
said “This is a meat m arket —we sell meat, not vegetables. ” The rabbit
hopped off. The next day the butcher is o pening the shop and sure
enough the rabbit pops his head round and says “You got any
cabbage?” The butcher now irritated says “L isten you little rodent I
told you yesterday we sell meat, we do not sell vegetables and the next
time you come here I am going to grab you by the throat and nail those
floppy ears to the floor. ” The rabbit disappeared hastily and not hing
happened for a week. Then one morning the rabbit popped his head
around the corner and said “Got any nails? ” The butcher said “No.” The
rabbit said “Ok. Got any cabbage? ”
10. Tell the truth. The rabbit joke is relevant because it occurred to me
that looking for a cabbage in a butcher ’s shop might be like looking for
ethics in the design field. It may not be the most obvious place to find
either. It’s interesting to observe that in the new AIGA ’s code of ethics
there is a significant amount of useful infor mation abo ut appropriate
behaviour towards clients and other designers, but not a word about a
designer’s relationship to the public. We expect a butcher to sell us
eatable meat and that he doesn ’t misrepresent his wares. I remember
reading that during th e Stalin years in Russia that everything labelled
veal was actually chicken. I can ’t imagine what everything labelled
chicken was. We can accept certain kinds of misrepresentation, such
as fudging abo ut the amount of fat in his hamburger but once a
butcher knowingly sells us spoiled meat we go elsewhere. As a
designer, do we have less responsibility to our public than a butcher?
Everyone interested in licensing our field might note that the reason
licensing has been invented is to protect the public not d esigners or
clients. ‘Do no harm ’ is an admonitio n to do ctors concerning their
relationship to their patients, not to their fellow practitioners or the
drug companies. If we were licensed, telling the truth might beco me
more central to what we do.
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Peter Nowogrodzki
THE PESTO MANIFESTO
This is the pesto manifesto; an improvised recipe of sorts. When making
pesto, here are some things to keep in mind:
1. Must use organic garlic if you live in the 21st Ce.
2. Must use fresh basil from your mom or neighbor ’s garden.
3. Must use pine nuts.
4. No food processing allowed.
These are important because pesto is a delicacy that deserves to be made
right. Pasta should no t be smothered in mediocrity! Or should it?
1. Become inspired by m ediocre productions.
2. Don’t covert production and experimentation recipe.
3. Always leave the edges rough, so that someone can cut themselves.
4. A photoshop’d joke is deep and meaningful.
5. Take the knife to cultural icons and produce: produce the produce for
the recipe and destroy the recipe.
6. Follow and muddy up every else ’s recipe; pun and play, annihilate and
resurrect meaning.
Keep in mind: pesto is delicious when it ’s made fresh.
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Slavs and Tatars
SLAVS
You can take the Slav out of Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia,
Serbia, Montenegro, Belarus, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia,
Ukraine and the Czech Republic but you can ’t take Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia,
Slovakia, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Belarus, Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Macedonia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic o ut of the Slav.
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Stefan Sagmeister
OBSESSIONS
Obsessions make my life worse and my work better.
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Tibor Kalman
FUCK COMMITTEES
(I believe in lunatics) It’s about the struggle between individuals with
jag ged passion in their work and today ’s faceless corporate committees,
which claim to understand the needs of the mass audience, and are
removing the idiosyncrasies, polishing the jags, creating a thought -free,
passio n -free, cultural mush that will not be hated nor loved by anyone. By
now, virtually all media, architecture, product and graphic design have
been freed from ideas, individual passion, and have been relegated to a
role of corporate servitude, carrying out corporate strategies and
increasing stock prices. Creative people are now working for the bottom
line.
Magazine edito rs have lost their editorial independence, and work for
committees of publishers (who work for committees of advertisers). TV
scripts are vetted by producers, advertisers, lawyers, research specialists,
layers and layers of paid executives who determine wh ether the scripts are
dumb enough to amuse what they call the ‘lowest common denominator ’.
Film studios out films in front of focus groups to determine whether an
ending will please target audiences. All cars look the same. Architectural
decisio ns are made by accountants. Ads are stupid. Theater is dead.
Corporations have become the sole arbiters of cultural ideas and taste in
America. Our culture is corporate culture.Culture used to be the o pposite
of commerce, not a fast track to ‘content’- derived riches . Not so long ago
captains of industry (no angels in the way they acquired wealth) thought
that part of their responsibility was to use their millions to suppo rt
culture. Carnegie built libraries, Rockefeller built art m useums, Fo rd
created his global foun dation. What do we now get from our billionaires?
Gates? Or Eisner? Or Redstone? Sales pitches. Junk mail. Meanwhile,
creative people have their work reduced to ‘content ’ or ‘intellectual
property’. Magazines and films become ‘delivery systems ’ for product
messages.
But to be fair, the abo ve is only 99 percent true.
I offer a modest solution: Find the cracks in the wall. There are a very few
lunatic entrepreneurs who will understand that culture and design are not
about fatter wallets, but abo ut creating a future. They will understand that
wealth is means, not an end. Under other circumstances they may have
turned out to be like you, creative lunatics. Believe me, they ’re there and
when you find them, treat them well and use their money to change the
world.
Tibor Kalman New York June 1998
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