The First Things First 2000 manifesto, launched by '' Adbusters'' magazine in 1999, was an updated version of the earlier First Things First manifesto written and published in 1964 by

Ken Garland Ken Garland (19 February 1929 – 20 May 2021) was a British graphic designer, photographer, writer and educator. Garland is known for his writing on design and the prolific work of his studio Ken Garland & Associates. Early life and education ...

, 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 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 Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

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.

Thirty-three signers

Jonathan Barnbrook Jonathan Barnbrook (born 1966), is a British graphic designer, film maker and typographer. He trained at Saint Martin's School of Art and at the Royal College of Art, both in London. Work Barnbrook designed the cover artwork of David Bowie's ...

* Nick Bell *

Andrew Blauvelt Andrew Blauvelt (born West Point, NY in 1964) is a Japanese-American curator, designer, educator, and writer. Since 2015 he has served as director of the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Biography Blauvelt received an MFA in de ...

* Hans Bockting *

Irma Boom Irma Boom (born 15 December 1960) is a Dutch graphic designer who specializes in bookmaking. Boom has been described as The Queen of Books, having created over 300 books and is well reputed for her artistic autonomy within her field. Her bold e ...

* Sheila Levrant de Bretteville *

Max Bruinsma Max Bruinsma (born 1956) is a Dutch design critic, editor, curator, and educator. Career After studying Art and Design History in Groningen and Amsterdam, Bruinsma worked as editor-in-chief of the Dutch design magazine'' Items'' from 1988 to 1989 ...

* Domenico Catapano * Siân Cook * Linda van Deursen * Chris Dixon *

William Drenttel William Drenttel (October 14, 1953 – December 21, 2013) was a designer, author, publisher, social entrepreneur and foundation executive. In 2012, he was the president o vice president of communications and design for Teach For All, co-direc ...

* Gert Dumbar *

Simon Esterson Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

* Vince Frost *

* Milton Glaser *

Jessica Helfand Jessica Helfand (born 1960 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a designer, author, and educator. She is a former contributing editor and columnist for Print, Eye and Communications Arts magazine, and founding editor of the website Design Observer. S ...

* Steven Heller * Andrew Howard *

Tibor Kalman Tibor George Kalman (July 6, 1949 – May 2, 1999) was an American graphic designer of Hungarian origin, well known for his work as editor-in-chief of ''Colors'' magazine. Early life Kalman was born on July 6, 1949, in Budapest, to parents Ma ...

* Jeffery Keedy * Zuzana Licko * Ellen Lupton *

Katherine McCoy Katherine McCoy (born October 12, 1945) is an American graphic designer and educator, best known for her work as the co-chair of the graduate Design program for Cranbrook Academy of Art. During her extensive career spanning education and prof ...

Armand Mevis Armand refer to: People * Armand (name), list of people with this name * Armand (photographer) (1901–1963), Armenian photographer * Armand (singer) (1946–2015), Dutch protest singer * Sean Armand (born 1991), American basketball player * Arm ...

* J. Abbott Miller * Rick Poynor * Lucienne Roberts *

Erik Spiekermann Erik Spiekermann (born 30 May 1947 in Stadthagen, Lower Saxony) is a German typographer, designer and writer. He is an honorary professor at the University of the Arts Bremen and ArtCenter College of Design. Biography Spiekermann studied art his ...

* Jan van Toorn * Teal Triggs * Rudy VanderLans * Bob Wilkinson

Notes

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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