First things first 2000 Manifesto
From Free net encyclopedia
The First things first 2000 manifesto was an updated version of the earlier First things first 1964 Manifesto published in 2000 by some of the leading lights of the graphic design, artistic and visual arts community. It was republished by Emigre, Eye and other important graphic design magazines and has stirred controversy (again) in Graphic design.
In essence, the question of value-free design has been continually contested within graphic design between those who are concerned about the values in design and those who are believe design can be value-free. Those who believe that design can be free from values feel that the graphics industries themselves should not be concerned with the underlying political questions. Those who are concerned with values believe that graphics and the designers themselves must be critical and take a stand, for instance by not promoting industries and products perceived to be 'bad'. Examples of what might be classified as bad are adverts and designs for cigarette manufacturers, arms companies, and so on. This has been particularly influential on AdBusters, for example, and is related to ideas of detournement and culture jamming.