FTF 2000 Manifesto. The original 1964 manifesto.

To start with this manifesto was first released in 1964 so the whole economy and society were at a different level than what we are at today. The 60's were an era of political change and this was a wide spread phenomenon in every area, not just graphic design. This influenced peoples beliefs and people started to question everything they did, in relation to ethics and morals. The list of 'demeaning' things a designer could be wasting their time on in the original manifesto were quite trivial and they were not loaded with guilt ( cat food, stomach powders, detergent, fizzy water etc.) These are followed by quite a strong statement:

"By far the greatest time and effort of those working in the advertising industry are wasted on these trivial purposes, which contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity"

First of all, this statement is quite specific to people in the 'advertising industry' whereas now graphic designers design advertisements, packaging, posters etc and the lines between job titles can often blur. Secondly, i think saying that these products "...contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity" is not necessarily true either, as they are obviously going to make money from these products selling (due to designers creating the designs) which in turn will put more money back into the economy, to hire designers again and create a circle of work. Supply and Demand. If they are mentioning this meaning in the way that they "contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity" in reference to aesthetically pleasing design, then the only people to blame would be the designers themselves for not creating inspiring designs or innovative designs. I think this manifesto leaves a lot of questions open and from the small number of designers(22) who signed this manifesto in 1964, many designers were not comfortable with alot of the grey areas unmentioned. Hmmm...