OUGD401 - Study Task 7 - Harvard Referencing & Triangulation

'Disrepresentation Now' by Experimental Jetset

'First things First Manifesto' by Ken Garland

'First Things First Manifesto 2000' by Adbusters

'Fuck Committees' by Tibor Kalman

All of the manifesto texts above touch on aspects of issues that all designers face today however, come from slightly different standpoints and personal preferences. The two First things First Manifestos probably share the most ideologies as one uses the other as a predecessor to write their own thesis. Ken Garlands 1964 manifesto reflects upon how creative industries have been obliged to produce meaningless work for the conglomerate corporations instead of using their talents to make a difference in the world. It depicts that the fault is with publications whom embellish the belief that lucrative advertising design should be praised onto young emerging designers. The belief if reinforced and expanded upon in the Adbusters 2000 First things First manifesto where the blame is pointed towards the designers and mentors themselves rather than the publications. Publications are still referenced when explaining the cause of the problem however, the blame is set with the designers who are effectively supporting and endorsing the meaningless commercial work of companies. The same ideologies are represented in the 'Fuck Committees' manifesto where even the name reflects the authors standpoint on the issues presented. The manifesto focuses on editors and authors loosing their creative independence to the committees and higher powers in the industry due to wages and money coming first. This can be directly reflected back to the 2000 thesis with the quote 'Commercial work has always paid the bills, but many graphic designers have now let it become, in large measure, what graphic designers do.' Again, similar issues are raised in 'Disrepresentation now' where it states that advertising is one of the most representative form of art and that real creative talent cannot be exploited when being stuck in such boundaries.

The image above is a prime example of all of the issues raised in the four manifestos above. The boundaries set by these conglomerate corporations are showcased in the advertisement, there has been little input from the designer responsible as the logo, slogan, text, photography, orientation and colour scheme has all been pre-decided beforehand. None of the designers personal preferences or creative aesthetic has been able to shine through with this corporate design.

The 'First things First 2000' Manifesto by Adbusters explores the moral and ethical problems that face every graphical designer today on whether to sell out their creative talents in order to pay the bills. The text calls out to mentors and publications today which encourage this commercial and inessential form of art, it strives towards a world where society stops supporting these conglomerate corporations. In contract with the 1964 version of the manifesto, the text degrades the designers who support these consumerist values and strives to convince artists to pursue work in charitable causes, educational tools and information design.

In summary all of the texts focus on degrading the committees that run the decisions on design projects. The essential components of the manifestos are to call out upon designers to join their cause and to use their creative talents to expose the ignorance of corporate advertising. It is asked to produce pieces of initiative design which can benefit society and communities around the world.