MANIFESTO - Thinking inside the box

After looking back at the work I have produced for this module so far I have decided that the ideal thing for me to base my manifesto on is the principles of structure and order in design. I often consider myself to be a pretty uptight designer and that I could do with having a bit more freedom in my work and expressing myself more without worrying about sticking to rules that I have been set or set myself. However as this is a project about looking at my own working practice I have decided to use my manifesto as a celebration of rule following and rigid design! While I don’t really believe that real creativity must follow exact rules I think this will be a good exercise in exploring the argument for and against order in design. Timothy Samara outlines this when well when looking at grid systems in design.

“For some graphic designers, it has become an unquestioned part of the working process that yields precision, order and clarity. For others, it is symbolic of Old Guard aesthetic oppression, a stifling cage that hinders the search for expression”.

Samara, T. Making and Breaking the Grid. (2002). USA: Rockport Publishing

As a manifesto is a statement rather than a discussion I will be taking the side of structure order and clarity being a positive influence on creativity in general.

Here is the copy for my manifesto:

This manifesto is for the creatives who like to create using a strict design system. A design system is made up of boundaries, order, straight lines and rules. While these are perceived as ways to suffocate the imagination, they are really tools that can be used to inform, entertain, and inspire an audience.

The purpose of design is to solve problems. Having boundaries to work within challenges the imagination to think of creative solutions to those problems.

A system does not mean boring, easy, useless or ugly. A system means only showing what is essential, it means, clarity, purity and accuracy.

Using a design system enhances clarity and makes information easier to understand. Design is not for you and it is not for other designers, it is for everyone else. Design should ultimately help people, and the easier it is to understand the more people it is able to help.

Although design systems can be complicated, they are used to make it look as though something hasn’t been designed at all, they are used to make a design look simply the way it should look.

A personality does not need to be injected into a design. A well considered design system will create a personality of its own.

Of course some solutions will always require some disobedience. But rules have to be made before they can be broken.