FTF 2000 Manifesto. Commercial work for a designer?

In relation to this manifesto, my opinion is that for me to make money as a graphic designer i will have to do commercial work. I don't see anything wrong with doing commercial work, such as advertising mundane products. I see them as experience and an opportunity to learn. This manifesto is obviously written by people who have earned a fair bit of money to keep them in their comfortable lives and you can guarantee that they probably have undertaken commercial work in their time to get where they are today. I don't think commercial mundane jobs should be shunned as they are the times you gain experience and learn what you can and can't do, as well as earn yourself money to survive. I think this kind of graphic snobbery is ridiculous, as a designer it is my job to make what I'm doing interesting no matter the job........ So bring on the fish finger packaging design! It's all experience.

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...

First things First 2000 - A Manifesto For Design

After Speaking about this manifesto in Critical Studies and now it being mentioned in studio sessions i am now going to try and question what it is saying and it is already starting to make me think about my design ethics and my stance in Graphic Design. It makes me think about what i would and would not design.

What is my price ?
In other words, what do i value? and where are my priorities?
For example, would i create designs for a brand of cigarettes, knowing full well that they cause cancer and kill people? I have to start asking questions like, "If i dont design them someone else will" .... does this mean i should do it. Other questions such as "should designers actually do commercial work?" and create things like packaging for dog food for example. Is it the case of, yes, we should design dog food packaging but make sure we do a good job and make it really interesting and innovative, s someones got do it so it may aswell look good. Or is it a case of no, designing dog food packaging is a waste of a designers time and skills. I will have a weekly post on this manifesto and i will ask myself these questions and answer as best as i can. The manifesto is below.