1. Manifesto By City Harmonic

2. I Am For An Art By Claes Oldenberg

3. Creative Manifesto By Rebelle Society

Manifestos on religion are probable the most common form of manifesto, especially that that define the differences between denominations inside a given religion. The band City Harmonic, defined as a

Canadian, Christian Rock band, formed in 2009, released a song called manifesto. The song defined their stance on their religion and the actual album it was on reached number 5 on the ITunes Christian and

Gospels Albums list.

Looking into the actual contents of the song, they begin with ‘We Believe’. This is repeated throughout the song. The use the pluralised pronoun ‘we’ shows a collective and a union. This means that it is not

just the opinion of one soul person, and that the singer(s) represents a wider mass of people. Manifestos of individuals tend to be of a single person’s stance on a given topic. Therefore most manifestos contain

singular personal pronouns. The decision to write the song on behalf of the masses is an intriguing thing, but perhaps not for the individual to look at, when attempting to seek inspiration on crafting their own,

personal manifesto.

The use of the Lord’s Prayer in the song could be seen as a quote. This quote affirms what their manifesto

is about. To quote another author could be seen as showing an audience of the manifesto, who or what

inspired their own manifesto. Taking this into account should we also consider the fact that manifestos

are supposed to be a personal opinion and not something that should be moulded by outside influences?

On this planet, there are surely not an infinite number of opinions, just like there is only a certain

amount of ways you can form a sentence. By this reasoning, is it ok to use quotes in a personal manifesto?

It is to be questioned.

When looking into the actual format of this manifesto, as a graphic design student, but also as a musician, it isn’t totally out of the question to format my own piece as a song. The benefits of something being stated in this way can be quite powerful. Many people say that they remember song lyrics better

than they could their revision notes. The concept of a manifesto being easily remembered must be a priority in anybody’s eyes.

Another benefit of a manifesto, is just the fact that music can be a powerful, emotive tool and can easily be manipulative in making an audience respond. Songs such as Imagine by John Lennon and Do They

Know It’s Christmas Time by Bob Geldof can prove that a song can be a powerful tool for motivation. The question here is that when writing our own manifestos, are we requiring a response, or are we only

letting people know our opinions and morals?

I am for an art is written by Claes Oldenberg attempts to define what art is. As far as a manifesto is

concerned, this is a manifesto of definition and personal stance on said definition. When writing our own

manifestos we should consider what we want to define. If it is that we want to define ourselves, how can

you define yourself without crucifying potential job offers? For some people, moral standards will always

outweigh the need to be able to work and earn money.

Claes Oldenberg was smart enough to write in a way that did not offend, nor have destructive opinions.

Negative opinions, such as if he had written ‘I am not for an art’ could have been harmful to his career,

To be controversial can entice people, but it can also offend, So when justifying opinions in our own

manifestos we should consider the potential reactions to what we write. Although I disagree with the

statements Oldenberg makes about his definition of art, I believe that he has been controversial with the

potential for only positive and/or productive outcomes.

Most people agree that repetition is key to being able to remember something and with this manifesto,

the repetition of ‘I am for an art that…’ is very memorable. Is there, however, a fine line between

repetition and over use? This piece, for me, has me on the fence. The line “I am for…” is repeated over 70

times. Whilst it is very memorable it also made me want to switch off after the first 20 lines. When

writing our own manifestos, we should remember not to babble and beat around the bush. Getting

straight to the point and keeping something short and sweet, will be key to success for our responses to

the brief.

Oldenberg could have just ‘everything is art’ but would that have made the same effect? So whilst

sighing at the overuse of the same structured points, would it still have been famous years later if it had

just said ‘I am for the art of everything’? Who is to say? Content, is therefore, perhaps more important

than justification. One should not have to justify our opinions in the format of a manifesto. If

Claes Oldenberg had tried to justify himself, not only would his manifesto have border lined being

ridiculously long, but it would give room to question his own work. By not justifying himself, he has

abandoned the risks of being called a hypocrite or even been classed as offensive. By that reasoning

should we also be wary when writing our piece to not leave room for being offensive or have our

opinions critiqued; we should consider to attempt to only have the way in which we voice things

critiqued, not our actual opinions.

Contrasting from the other two manifestos, the Creative Manifesto by Rebelle Society is more a set of

rules. Similar to the famous ‘Incomplete Manifesto for Growth’ by Bruce Mau Design, Rebelle Society

defines what they do and who they are by a basic set of principles. This can be advantageous as when

trying to sell oneself, one could merely refer to a basic rule as opposed to quoting a whole document or

report. It could be seen in a negative light as well though, as it could be seen as the person, or persons,

involved are very restricted and narrow minded.

Where they have written their rule, they have attempted to justify the rule or to explain what they mean.

They have made their manifesto very user friendly. This would be perfect for clientele to read and to

understand. Although most clients may be educated, not everyone knows what complex lexicons are. The

last thing a client wants is to made feel like a child. Making something user friendly can do one of two

things: it can help people understand, and want to invest, or it could just be condescending. When

writing our manifestos we must be very conscious of this factor. If our manifestos go public we must be

wary of our potential audiences and adjust our writing style appropriately.

Similar to the City Harmonic’s manifest, Rebelle Society has referenced an outside influence. Although not

actually quoting a person or document, it has made reference to JRR Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The association is more given as a relatable analogy as opposed to them merely having their heads in the

clouds. The reference itself brings up some interesting points. Many people in the world are enticed by so

called ‘nerdisms’, so this is relatable to many people. The whole document is aimed at more than one

audience. Certain points are made for a philosopher, businessman and some for the inner child in a

person.

The reference also does one major important thing: it gives an insight into the team there. In one sense, a

person can feel like they are getting to know the design team on a more personal level. This in itself is a

marketing ploy. A person, who can be seen in this friendly light, is more likely to be employed than

someone who is closed off.

The one negative side to this marketing strategy can only be seen according to what type of client is

looking for the services Rebelle Society does. The manifesto they have written is perhaps one of the least

professional I have seen on a quick search. The unprofessional nature of this piece does make the

company intriguing, but I suppose it depends on the client and audience. When writing our own

manifestos we must make our own stance on where we want to be seen on the professionalism scale.

1. Book

2. Poster/Image

3. Other

There are benefits to submitting a manifesto as a book, for example, once printed they can be distributed. Many people opt to write a report and therefore it is more appropriate to display it in a book format.

Similar to a book, a magazine could also be submitted in the same manner.

Regarding the practicalities, it would be an idea to create a manifesto in this format, but I am not entirely sure if this format would be for me. Although I write a lot and always feel I have a lot to say, looking into the three example manifestos I have looked at, has shown me that shorter manifestos are perhaps a little

better.

A short book would be a more practical idea, however, the distribution of this would not only be expensive, but also would make me ignore the other mediums and ways of publishing we have available

at a cheaper price, for example, our blogs.

Posters and actual pieces of art are free to distribute within reason. They could also subliminally advertise the skills of an artist. For this reason, it would be a good option to use this format for my own manifesto. They would be simple to do and still manage to not only show my manifesto, but also show my personal

style of work.

Some down sides would be the professionalism of this format, and what audience would I attract with it. The idea of work being stolen would also be very real. Aside from that, how clear would the work be, not

to mention the fact that the word count would have a limit.

If it was well planned, then the image would be based around the word count, not the other way round. Therefore this could be a potentially good idea for consideration.

The idea of thinking outside the box as a final design, could be very beneficial. Thinking outside the box could always help stand out from the crowd.

Manifestos before now could be put on t-shirts and other apparel, not to mention slogans could be advertised on many products. Manifestos can also be seen in the public eye like graffiti. Alternatives

would also include song writing.

There are pros and cons to thinking outside of the box. Graffiti is in fact illegal unless it is given consent by the property owner etc. It would however be in the public eye and a wider audience could be grabbed

just by it’s placement alone. When it comes to song writing, songs can be covered and remixed. If they were the downsides, then it should also be considered that the music would still be out there and

distributed on a wide scale regardless of the finance. Song lyrics are very memorable.

Using slogan on products would always be an idea, they could be widely distributed, but they would be very expensive to keep in production. The idea however is still there. Would people buy into it though?

The word count would have to be low though, which wouldn’t fit to what I could potentially write.

I do not believe in defining oneself; definitions can be equivalent of a crucifixion of a person, object, or neologism. I could say that I am a

philosopher, a ponderer of the controversial, an artist, an illustrator, a graphic designer, a photographer and an all-round creative person.

This, however, would not be a good way to define myself, as I am much more and everyone has the potential to be so much more.

As an academic, I frown upon anyone who disgraces academia in order to replace it with artistry. Academia is perhaps more important

than a knowledge of art and design alone. Academia is understanding. Without understanding, one cannot problem solve in a mature and

sensitive way. Knowledge can be an art. Artists and designers strive to break the rules, but there is a fine line between controversy and the

grotesque.

I do not believe in editing the beauty of nature, but would do so if a client required me to. A job, is a job, is a job. In the world of employ-

ment, job satisfaction comes from the money. Pride in your work comes from the craftsmanship. Happiness comes in the inspiration. Morals

and ethics should only come into play if you are willing to lose work. In an economy such as this one, one cannot be choosey. In saying this,

if you can separate your morals for the period of a job requirement, from what you know will put food on the table, then you will not lose

yourself.

You should always be reflected in your work, no matter what the subject matter or company it was made for. This can be done in crafts-

manship, or style. An artist must be able to be distinguished by their work. Whether their heart and soul is in a project, or not, they must

still uphold their standard of work. As a young individual it is easy to say “Oh, I’d never do that” when it comes to the subject matter of

working in the industry for specific companies or companies that work in specific sectors. The truth is, however, for the right price, most

human beings will do practically anything. If I, personally, felt working for a certain company was doing something that I disagreed with, I

would still do the design work I was employed for, but request to be kept anonymous unless they had my specific consent.

I do not strive for fame, I strive for a comfortable life and nor do I strive to be rich, only to feed myself and not have to worry about the

money on the majority of days. My future goals consist of just being happy in whatever I do and to always be inspired. Even in the shadows

there can be beauty, you just have to look a little harder. There’s nothing wrong with challenging something, or being challenged.

A challenge can often inspire me to push forward harder. Rugby scrums have nothing on me when it comes to pushing through to achieve

something. Just because I’m not given foot holes to climb up the mountain, doesn’t mean I won’t forge my own or at least try. Being told that

I cannot do tasks because of health or any other reason, does not mean I will not fight to at least try.

Music used to inspire me. The way music danced made my mind’s eye dream up worlds unknown. Just because I cannot hear the majority

of pitches anymore, does not mean I am not inspired anymore. I am not limited to weakness, I am limited by the opinions I have of myself. I

am not a self-confident person, rather a person who has knowledge of myself. Every day I learn about myself and my abilities. I had to learn

how to listen to music with more than just my ears when my hearing started to fade. Art and design should reflect on that. One should not

be limited to just experience a piece in one way. An experience is to be memorable for a long time, not just five minutes. A piece of work is

an extension of the experience of the designer or artist.