The First Things First 2000 manifesto, launched by ''

Adbusters The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia. Adbusters describes itself as "a global network of artists, activis ...

'' magazine in 1999, was an updated version of the earlier First Things First manifesto written and published in 1964 by Ken Garland, a British designer. The 2000 manifesto was signed by a group of 33 figures from the international graphic design community, many of them well known, and simultaneously published in ''Adbusters'' (Canada), ''Emigre'' ( Issue 51) and ''

AIGA The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity ...

Journal of Graphic Design'' (United States), ''Eye'' magazine no. 33 vol. 8, Autumn 1999, ''Blueprint'' (Britain) and ''Items'' (Netherlands). The manifesto was subsequently published in many other magazines and books around the world, sometimes in translation. Its aim was to generate discussion about the graphic design profession's priorities in the design press and at design schools. Some designers welcomed this attempt to reopen the debate, while others rejected the manifesto. The question of value-free design has been continually contested in the graphic design community between those who are concerned about the need for values in design and those who believe it should be value-free. Those who believe that design ''can'' be free from values reject the idea that graphic designers should concern themselves with underlying political questions. Those who are concerned about values believe that designers should be critical and take a stand in their choice of work, for instance by not promoting industries and products perceived to be harmful. Examples of projects that might be classified as unacceptable include many forms of advertising and designs for cigarette manufacturers, arms companies and so on. ''Adbusters'' has been a significant outlet for these ideas, especially in its commitment to detournement and

culture jamming Culture jamming (sometimes also guerrilla communication) is a form of protest used by many anti-consumerist social movements to disrupt or subvert media culture and its mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising. It att ...

Thirty-three signers

* Jonathan Barnbrook * Nick Bell * Andrew Blauvelt * Hans Bockting * Irma Boom *

Sheila Levrant de Bretteville Sheila Levrant de Bretteville (born 1940) is an American graphic designer, artist and educator whose work reflects her belief in the importance of feminist principles and user participation in graphic design. In 1990 she became the director of th ...

* Max Bruinsma * Domenico Catapano * Siân Cook * Linda van Deursen *

Chris Dixon Chris Dixon is an American internet entrepreneur and investor. He is a general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and previously worked at eBay. He is also the co-founder and former CEO of Hunch. He was #1 on the Midas ...

* William Drenttel * Gert Dumbar * Simon Esterson * Vince Frost * Ken Garland *

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer. His most notable designs include the I Love New York logo, a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan, and the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University and Brooklyn Brewery. In 195 ...

* Jessica Helfand * Steven Heller * Andrew Howard * Tibor Kalman *

Jeffery Keedy Jeffery Keedy, born 1957, is an American graphic designer, Type design, type designer, writer and Teacher, educator. He is notable as an Essay, essayist and contributor to Book, books and periodicals on graphic design. He is also notable for the de ...

Zuzana Licko Zuzana Licko (born Zuzana Ličko, 1961) is a Slovak-born American type designer and visual artist known for co-founding Emigre Fonts, a digital type foundry in Berkeley, CA. She has designed and produced numerous digital typefaces including the ...

Ellen Lupton Ellen Lupton (born 1963) is a graphic designer, curator, writer, critic, and educator. Known for her love of typography, Lupton is the Betty Cooke and William O. Steinmetz Design Chair at Maryland Institute College of Art. Previously she was the ...

* Katherine McCoy * Armand Mevis * J. Abbott Miller *

Rick Poynor Rick Poynor is a British writer on design, graphic design, typography, and visual culture. Career He began as a general visual arts journalist, working on ''Blueprint'' magazine in London. After founding ''Eye'' magazine, which he edited from 19 ...

* Lucienne Roberts * Erik Spiekermann * Jan van Toorn * Teal Triggs *

Rudy VanderLans Rudy VanderLans (born 1955, Voorburg) is a Dutch graphic designer, photographer, and the co-founder of Emigre Fonts with his wife Zuzana Licko. Emigre Fonts is an independent type foundry in Berkeley, CA. He was also the art director and editor of ...

* Bob Wilkinson

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Text of the Manifesto

''Emigre Issue'' 51: First Things First

''Adbusters'' report on the Manifesto

Text of the manifesto, published in ''Eye'' no. 33 vol. 8, Autumn 1999
followed by a short article.
Andrew Howard’s article ‘There is such a thing as society’
from ''Eye'' no. 13 vol. 4.
Published writing from Ken Garland’s website.

A short critique of the manifesto by Jan Michl
"The First Things First manifesto and the Politics of Culture Jamming"
A scholarly article by Matt Soar, published in the journal ''Cultural Studies 16''(4), 2002. Graphic design Art manifestos 2000 documents