Design Manifesto

This afternoon, in the midst of cleaning out the attic (well, really I was just looking for picture frames I could spray paint white) I came across this project from school. It's tiny in size and easily overlooked...a set of seven small cards in envelopes. I believe this project is from my Typography II class with Professor Kelly Bryant. We had looked at collective thoughts and manifestos from different designers and were then challenged to write our own. 


Forgive me if this post presents graphic design in an overly self-gratifying and self-reflective light. And forgive the height of idealism. I realize many designers have a similar process as I do. Four years later, despite my far-reaching confidence in design and lack of experience then, I do still strongly believe the principles behind the words I wrote in that type II class.
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Good design is close to perfection. Thus good design can be elevated above the level of normalcy or mediocrity--it is closer to God, as God is perfect and the beginning of creativity. Through this ability of design to supersede the usually mediocre state of our culture, we as artists can raise expectations and have the ability to meet those expectations.


Design can and must do the following:
1. tint the culture and the minds of its viewers
2. reinvent reality
3. maintain its responsibility of truth to ethics, issues and materials
4. bring necessity and quality to the work it presents to a culture inundated with images


We cannot produce excellence in the future without accrediting the past. Knowledge of art and design history and the presence of academic skill are vital to an artist's training and contribute to the scope of his work.


I want to show the human connection to design in my work; often I try to create a dialogue with the viewer, and at all times I endeavor to give the viewer an experience, often a kind of alternate reality. Freshness, imagination, and the unexpected are important in my work and process; materials speak for themselves to a large degree, and I act as the editor. Often my work has a tactile quality. I have an affinity for book design, book arts, illustration, and fine arts; flexibility, pacing, and narration are all important to me.


Fine art and graphic design begin in the same place, can and must coexist, and should influence each other when appropriate. Otherwise, fine art becomes chaotic and removed, and design becomes sterile and cannot appeal to our innate appreciation of an objective beauty.


I research circularly, exploring history, fine art, relevant aesthetics and ideas; I look for relevancy in everything: objects, atmospheres, situations, landscapes, personalities. I write profusely and explore and combine existing things. I often have materials in mind prior to having compositions set, sometimes prior to having my concept completely resolved.


To change the world, we must show the world excellence in the arts and teach the world to appreciate it. Our minds must understand the human experience in order to speak to it.