Bites of dsign: 11.2007

REVIEW

FIRST THINGS FIRST MANIFIESTO
RE-REVISITED
A sensible perspective

As a graphic design student I have always been intrigued about the reasons behind the “First Things First Manifesto” to be written and published. This review will give me the opportunity to analyse it in depth as well as one more personal point of view on this contemporary issue and cause for much debate in the design community.
My first impression when I read it was that conveys very clear and direct statements; using a very simple, clear, reasonable and sensible language and approaching situations in a very delicate way to be understood for many different sort of audience.
The “First Things First Manifesto” was published for first time in 1964 by British designer Ken Garland in London. An updated version was re-written and published 35 years later by Adbusters magazine in 2000 under the supervision of Kalle Lash, editor of Adbusters, and Tibor Kalman, Hungarian graphic designer well-known for his work as editor of Colors. [1]
The two manifestos were written to communicate a global awareness, “how the discipline of graphic designed is being deformed by commercial work” and both of them are claming for a change on the way graphic design is being applied, it points out the lack of commitment and engagement to provide services to the community.

The 1964 Manifesto is a clear reaction against society in Great Britain in the sixties. In 1945 the World War II was ended, and the post-war turn up with a new style of life full of hope and optimism. As Poynor (1999) evaluated, “Young designers were vigorous and optimistic” [2]. Life was undertaken as a renovation, progress and experimentation for a better future. The wealthy and commercial culture came along with the evolution of graphic design based in the sixties together with few new art and design movements such as psychedelic and postmodernism.
I believe this is the point where prosperous & consumerist culture began.
Nowadays we have the consequences, probably unknown at that time.

Under my opinion, this banal optimism can still be reflected in the 1964 First things first manifesto. The hope expressed in the manifesto: “…we hope that our society will tire of gimmick…” was obviously absorbed by the anxiety of progress in society. “The Manifesto” was well expressed but they could have approach the issue getting different ideas, with a different tone of speech.

We can observe the failure of the 1964 manifesto trying to combat the way Graphic Design was developed reinforcing and supporting the consumerist society. Perhaps people do not care anymore about manifestos but I presume to say that the main weakness of the manifesto is not to approach the root of the problem but argues the consequences. It does not give a firmed functional solution to make a change. Statements and opinions are established in the manifesto to be discussed; it does create a debate but fail at the time of finding a solution. My point of view is that the manifesto will not change the system established but will help to get to the solution.

In contrast, the context of the 2000 manifesto is different. Capitalism together
with advertising, business and marketing are in the podium in our society, and
they have developed further away than moral rights and human principles. The updated manifesto has raised much deeper issues, debates and divided opinion on the subject. My personal impression is that “2000 The Manifesto” reflects resignation to the facts and assumes our society, it is naïf and raises its voice louder but not much stronger, Graphic design as a vocational discipline still blur and the new manifesto changes its `1964 hope´ for a `2000
expectation´. It says “The scope of debate is shrinking; it must expand”. They
are clamming for a committed engagement with the community to provide their services into larger questions of power, democracy, and communication aiming a more productive approach, but it will get forgotten as it was the first
manifesto for 35 years because is missing strength and support.

In the other hand, the strength on the manifesto is that make us aware to all of us: professionals, students and practitioners in the design field. As a future professional graphic designer I feel pleased that the First things first manifesto was published as a reminder to graphic designers in the fact that reminds to use our talents and knowledge with different purposes than to generate power to private corporations and capitalism.

We need to thank you to all Graphic Designers involved on the issue, worried that graphic design had taken a different route, losing the roots and developing towards the current capitalist situation. Definitely, it is a friendly approach to raise the rights and social engagement well thought through but not strong enough to change the structure of this society.

To summarise, I think that the manifesto is just a starting point to fix these differences, the society has become stronger and I would compromise to say the graphic design discipline should be revised in a more firm way. People in general and sadly many students do not know the differences between Graphic Design as a discipline, advertising or commercial work. We are loosing culture and principles as a consequence of this capitalist and consumerist society, as Lavin argues “Graphic design is an umbrella field defined broadly as mass visual communication and more fully as
´an art form that depends for its efficacy on the degree to which words and
images communicate a coherent message` For the most part, it’s a hard-working service field, a field that sees itself more occupied with translating speech into visual language than speaking” [3] with power to communicate a
product visually but with not power whatsoever to influence the content.

We can not really compete with society evolution but we can arrange the bases, the principles and services in which graphic design should be questioned to make a difference in our society, in twenty first century. We need to raise our voices to support the manifesto because it will fail on the same
way it did 35 years ago. We need a new solution based in “The First Things First Manifesto” if we want to make it functional.

I belief that re-organise the currently educative system towards Graphic Design as a discipline would be an end to the problem but through the manifesto there is not much that we can do to stop the mass production and we can not change the world, but at least, we can try harder to obtain a more satisfactory reward. Actual society is a completely chaos where capital, money and consumerism has come first, and humanity, moral rights and principles come after.

REFERENCE
LIST AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia. A
wikimedia Project, 2007 [online].
Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_things_first_2000_Manifesto [accessed 23 October 2007]
[2] Bierut, M., Drentte, W. & S.Heller, 2002. “Looking Closer Four: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, Vol.4”. New York: Allworth Communications Press. Originally published in Adbusters no.27 (Fall 1999). Rick Poynor
[3] Lanvin, M., 2001. Clean New World “ Culture, Politics, and Graphic Design”.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

"This is a considered, thoughtful and perception review which succedes in using its subject as a stimulates to wider reflection upon the art and the discipline of of design, and the social responsibilities of the designer" Will Hill (2007)

Design Practise Sem1- 2007
This module involves creative enquiry into graphic visual language: this will entail examining graphic design´s relationship to contemporary communications and to popular culture and its scope as a medium for addressing issues of communication and meaning.

Project
This project is designed to introduce key aspects of the design of promotional and informational material for print. It will also require research the work of a designer and communicate their findings to the group.

Brief
The Design Museum is to host a series of special exhibitions curated and conceived by current designers (ourselves) as a personal response to the inspiration of key designers from the last 20 years.

Deliverables
A1 - Poster
A4/DL - sized flyer-leaflet
Quarter-page press ad: monochrome
One piece of specially designed exhibition merchandise

Richard Eckersley
British book designer (1941-2006)
Eckersley´s design radically dislodged the interior text from conventional settings, layouts sometimes upstages the text by deliberately impeding the act of reading.

Characteristics: