I hope the gif works on OSS.
I did not really quite know what to do for my manifesto. I did know that I did not want it to be too serious because in some sense, I wanted it to be (somewhat) a reflection of me and I am not a serious person at all. While looking through at the article that Prof Ash shared with us earlier in the semester, I came across this line “While manifestos are traditionally public declarations, every man can also have a personal manifesto.”. And so I thought, why not take the chance to make my own personal manifesto for all things design-related (with maybe a little spillage over into life).
And so, may I present to you, Lou’s (unqualified, non-exhaustive & everchanging) Guide to Being a (not-so-wretched) Designer. In its first form (which is what I am submitting for this assignment), I’ve included 5 things which I think are important to me and for others who happen to come across my manifesto:
1. One shall not take this guide as THE GUIDE but merely as one of the many guides that we may come across in life.
So for me, I wanted my manifesto to be a gentle reminder and not necessarily a rulebook that I have to keep to strictly, which is why this is the very first point.
2. One shall try not to think too much.
Enough said. Sometimes, it is better to just switch off your brain and JUST. DO. IT. Especially when your deadline for submission is in 2~3 days time :’)
3. One shall remain childlike – curious, enthusiastic, eager to learn and try
It was something that I had come across in an article somewhere, many years ago, back in primary school (I cannot even remember who wrote it and where it was published but I can still remember the idea that the author was trying to put across). The author of the article was trying to convince people to not lose the positive aspects of being young: of being curious, enthusiastic and wanting to learn and try everything and I thought that was brilliant. Especially so when being a designer, I feel like we should always remain curious, to always question things, to remain passionate about this path that we’ve decided to embark on and to not be afraid to admit that we don’t know things and just TRY.
4. One shall learn how and when to let go.
Another thing I should really learn to apply in my own life, since I am prone to getting borderline obsessive with my projects. Sometimes, it is best to step back and not touch the project for awhile, to allow your brain to take a break and not be stuck in the same rut (or in my case, the same ole trench)
5. One shall learn to be kind to both other people as well as ourselves
Be kind to others because that is just basic hooman behaviour. As for being kind to ourselves, we are often our own harshest critics and this often leads to a whole downward spiral when it comes to the mental health department. So yes my friends, please be gentle to yourself. We are doing the best that we can.
Random fact: I made the visual representation of my manifesto a gif to represent the everchanging aspect of it