samwieck asked: Hi Frank,
Recently I've been revisiting a project I did in school where I wrote and designed a manifesto. I was reminded of your Ethos section while doing so, and in a way, I read it like it was your manifesto.
Was their a conscious 'declaration of values' behind it? Do you think all designers should spend some time exploring their own manifesto?
I have mixed feelings about manifestos. One one hand, I think the word gets lobbed around too much and many of them seem insincere. It’s very purposeful that Ethos is called Ethos. Manifestos, in my mind, seem more of a platform, a set of objectives. Ethos seems to be more about capturing qualities of the process of doing the work. If a manifesto is a platform, my blog Ethos is maybe more about the disposition you bring to the work.
I think a manifesto has a finished state, and I wasn’t interested in making a list that had to be “done.” If circumstances change or I get new information or new experiences, I want to be able to change my mind. I’m not interested in publishing a little red book, because I can’t change it after the pages get glued together. It’s a thin line between ethos and manifesto, and maybe it’s a line that only I can see. It may not even exist, but it feels important to me.
While, I may get itchy when someone says they’re writing a manifesto, I think it is incredibly valuable to know what you believe. I think there is a benefit to broadcasting beliefs to clients so that you can attract clients that share similar values. You get along better with people who value the same things. You work better with folks that have the same definition of success.
