Personal Manifesto

Manifesto: shapes and forms

Words are powerful tools for encouragement. Therefore many manifestos consist of words, from long paragraphs to short and snappy sentences. However, manifestos do not always take the form of words; they can be visual too. Here I have chosen two examples of contemporary manifestos by designers who have selected words as their communication tool, one long and one short:

Frederick Terral, the creative visionary behind design studio “Right Brain Terrain”: his manifesto takes the form of scanned notebook pages with some sketches. This one seems a little lengthy at first glance however it explains clearly his thoughts and values and is persuasive through his use of quotations from a series of influential individuals. This section written at the beginning was very inspirational which led me to carry on reading until the end:

“You may not be a Picasso or Mozart but you don’t have to be. Just create to create. Create to remind yourself you’re still alive. Make stuff to inspire others to make something too. Create to learn a bit more about yourself.”

Research

Why manifestos are important

Manifestos are important because they help clarify what the individual or organisation really wants; they help unify an organisation by having a set declaration of their objective and create stronger connection between the individuals in an organisation. Whether as a collective or an individual, manifestos inspire actions towards aspirations, and create a sense of empowerment upon the creator and the viewer.

Catharina Bruns, German-born illustrator and designer behind “Work Is Not A Job”: she approaches “work” not as a 9-5 job but as how you individually contribute to the world. “Take your jobs seriously” is a phrase we hear a lot, however Brun plays with that concept and creates a powerful and memorable manifesto by replacing jobs with dreams. It puts emphasis on the word “dreams” reminding us of the importance of endeavouring towards our aspirations.

There are also typographic manifestos that are accompanied by visual manifestos, such as “The Cult of Done Manifesto”, written by Bre Pettis and Kio Stark, illustrated by James Provost. Their manifesto outlines the guide to get from start to finish in making a product. It is interesting to see that the artist has used a Rubik’s cube to represent all the statements which suggests the process of making something is the same as solving a puzzle. However personally I did not find this one very inspiring; perhaps it is because I do not understand all of it, and the numbering and orderly composition makes it less exciting, as if it came from an instruction manual.

Frederick Terral is also known for his “alternative motivational posters” which are more visual-based. In these two posters the symbol of the tree has been used in different ways. One portrays a tree in nature, with the word “integrity” which implies strong moral principles that are anchored into place. The other portrays a bolder colourful tree, with the word “grow” which suggests you can grow into any path, perhaps taking a bold step forward.

Typographic posters also have the potential to become very exciting and visual. Colour, font and design can convey a lot about the concept behind the poster.

What I found

For my manifesto, I think I would prefer to keep the words quite concise if I decide to do a sentence because that way it is more memorable and powerful. I would not like it to be very word-heavy, therefore I may choose a typographic poster with a limited number of words, or focus on imagery than words similar to Terral’s posters. Perhaps it could be a mixture of the two.

Sources:https://cvdl.ben.edu/blog/how-to-write-a-manifesto/https://www.brainpickings.org/2011/04/08/five-manifestos-for-life/https://design-milk.com/alternative-motivational-posters/2378308790_2284aff3ea_o/

SeeListenExperienceExploreInspireBe inspiredBe innovativeBe proactiveBe honestBe passionateBe braveBe confidentBe proud

Analysis

My approach to this project was to firstly think about what kind of artist I want to be. To answer this question, I wrote a list of qualities which I think are important to have as an artist and are the qualities I personally want to obtain. I then narrowed it down to select the most important qualities from the list.

I started by arranging these words in the form of a typographic poster.

After trying different compositions, sizes and fonts, this developed to a final rough layout. I removed the “be”s, which I thought were unnecessary, to make more space for the key words and build momentum with the listing technique (read top to bottom). The font size also gradually increases as you go down to reflect this momentum and to also show the importance of the words. The bottom three in particular are the ones I am furthest away from at this stage, thus the qualities I admire the most, hence why they have the largest font size.

Subject Knowledge and Concept

I am creating this manifesto as a source of encouragement towards myself. It embodies the qualities that I want to have as an artist, and as an individual. These qualities are yet to be achieved, and are my goals in my practice. Among existing manifestos, there are those that are created from knowledge, experience, and beliefs born from those experiences, however I interpret my manifesto as an aspirational statement, or a motivational guideline, because I do not have much knowledge and experience yet. So I have simply answered the question “what do I want to become?”

Experimentation

Following on from the rough plan, I drew out the design in pen to use for screen-printing:

I have tested in different colours:

The reason why I chose screen printing was because I wanted a physical copy of the manifesto and it gives some texture to the print. I also wanted to improve from the last time I did a screen print, which didn’t come out as strongly as I wanted. It wan’t perfect this time either, since it is visible in some areas which are faded.

As an alternative I also experimented on Photoshop to see what other results I could get with this design. This way I could cover up the areas which had not printed well, but it would also lose some texture.

Firstly, I tried creating a background for the text, and layered it against a white and black background.

The black background makes the colours stand out and gives the words a stronger impression, however I personally prefer the white background, because the colour white carries symbolisms such as purity and sincerity, which I believe is more appropriate for the manifesto, a source of inspiration.

Here are other versions:

Final Outcome

The final outcome derived from the last design on the previous page, since I believe that one is the most exciting. However, it seemed a little difficult to read, therefore I have tweaked it slightly by using only one colour and keeping the frame simple to make it look less overwhelming.

Evaluation

Ultimately, I did not choose one of the screen-prints as the final outcome, however I believe it was good practice. I chose this design because it is bright and exciting, and it gives off an optimistic impression in my opinion. If I had more time, I would explore other ways of presenting these words as a poster.