FIRST THINGS FIRST MANIFESTO EDITORIAL
Written and first published in 1964 by designer Ken Garland, "First Things First" challenged the main focus of graphic design, increasingly dominated by commercial work. He questioned whether designers' time and services could not be better used for broader social sectors, such as education and culture, as key areas that could benefit from designers' skills. Signed by 22 practitioners of the time, the manifesto had modernist ideology at its core.
In 1999 the manifesto was updated as “First Things First Manifesto 2000”, fostered by designer Tibor Kalman and anti-advertising publication “Adbusters” and published simultaneously in several design magazines such as Eye, AIGA Journal, Blueprint, Items, Form , Emigre and Adbusters. This text was more aggressive and vehement against advertising — the 1964 version appeased "high-pressure consumer advertising", claiming it wanted to change graphic design priorities rather than abolish all commercial activity.
With the advancement of a technological and self-centered society, in which profit precedes people and the planet, continually destroying essential living systems, this message has become even more urgent. In 2020, the previous manifestos were renewed, and an interventionist sense was added at the level of climate measures.
The book was intended to be more environmentally friendly, using only black and white ink and being printed on recycled paper.
This project was developed at ESAD Matosinhos, durning my 2nd year of the Communication Design Degree. (UC Digital Lab)
