Manifestos
MANIFESTOS
AUTO-DESTRUCTIVE ART MANIFESTO
By Gustav Metzger
"Auto-destructive art is the transformation of technology into public art." Metzger presents his ideas of a radical art. Read more
FIRST THINGS FIRST MANIFESTO
By Ken Garland
This updated version of the 1963/64 manifesto is a call for graphic designers to use their talents and expertise for more meaningful ends. Read more
ADF MANIFESTO
By Neville Brody
In this manifesto, written for the 2010 Anti-Design Festival in London, Brody bemoans the loss of creativity and calls for dangerous ideas. Read more
BEYOND THE NEW
By Hella Jongerius & Louise Schouwenberg
The designer and design theorist criticise the obsession with the New for the sake of the New and call for a change of mentality. Read more
TEN PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD DESIGN
By Dieter Rams
Rams' principles from the late 1970s have stood the test of time. So not only is good design long-lasting, so is good design theory! Read more
MANIFESTO
By Peter Saville
"Being a designer used to be like being on a crusade – we were fighters, evangelists. But in the last ten years ... the situation has changed." Read more
MANIFESTO
By Bruce Mau
"It is time we stopped talking about architecture. We should be thinking about educating, training and celebrating developers. " Read more
MANIFESTO
By Hussein Chalayan
"My contribution to cultural activity is a diligent commitment to merging different disciplines and cultures." Read more
MANIFESTO
By John Thackara
"We will not pretend things are simple when they are complex. We value the fact that by acting inside a system, you will probably improve it." Read more
MANTOWNHUMAN
By Alastair Donald, Richard J Williams, Karl Sharro, Alan Farlie, Debby Kuypers, Austin Williams
Anti-ecological, unconcerned with sustainability and localism, ManTowNHuman is a critical riposte to the concerns of Post Modernism. Read more
MANIFESTO
By Lebbeus Woods
"I am at war with my time, with history, with all authority that resides in fixed and frightened forms." Read more
MANIFESTO OF FUTURIST ARCHITECTURE
By Antonio Sant'Elia
In this vision of the future, cities would last less than a human life and each generation would rebuild in the image of their own desire. Read more
HOW TO WORK BETTER
By Peter Fischli and David Weiss
Fischli and Weiss' ten-point plan is a common-sense check-list and it has become an artwork in its own right, having been painted on buildings. Read more
MINI-MANIFESTO
By Daniel Eatock
'Begin with ideas'. 'Embrace chance'. Points 1 & 2 of Daniel Eatock's mini-manifesto illuminate his witty view of the everyday. Read more
THE HANNOVER PRINCIPLES
By William McDonough
William McDonough's Hannover Principles have come to underpin contemporary design thinking on sustainability. Read more
DESIGN FOR LIVING
By Norman Foster
The design process is a valuable commodity which should not be used as a mere gesture, argues Foster in this essay from the late 1960s. Read more
MANIFESTO
By Jasper Morrison
"Design makes things seem special, and who wants normal if they can have special? And that’s the problem." Read more
MANIFESTO
By Stefan Sagmeister
"Having guts always works out for me
Thinking that life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now." Read more
MANIFESTO
By John Maeda
"In the next chapter of the future, designers will be designing the centre of their very being – their own mind and their own body." Read more
MANIFESTO
By Greg Lynn
"Design, architecture and life will continue to become more and more biological, not merely biomorphic." Read more
MANIFESTO
By Valerio Olgiati
"Objects are the only things in architecture that are worth something." Read more
GLASS ARCHITECTURE
By Paul Scheerbart
A vision from 1914: the cityscapes of the future as coloured crystals of architecture, a stained glass world of transparency and light. Read more
MOULD MANIFESTO
By Friedensreich Hundertwasser
In this 1958 Manifesto Hundertwasser urged citizens to take back control of the buildings they live in. Read more
FUTURIST MANIFESTO
OF MEN'S CLOTHING
By Giacomo Balla
In this attack on neutral colours and passéist cuts, Balla argues for vivid colours and clothes that could change to reflect the wearer's mood. Read more
BARCELONA MANIFESTO
By Enzo Mari
Mari, an invaluable critic of consumerist design, rails against the industry and suggests ethics might still be a good place to start. Read more
FREESPACE MANIFESTO
By Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara
'FREESPACE describes a generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture's agenda, focusing on the space itself.' Read more
MANIFESTO: A TALE OF TWO
OR MORE ARCHITECTURES
By Vito Acconci
“It is the best of architectural times, it is the worst of architectural times.” Vito Acconci’s take on the dichotomy of contemporary architecture. Read more