In 2003, the then Joint Creative Director at Saatchi Design Sydney, Kevin Finn founded the independent design journal Open Manifesto under the modest banner ‘Some thoughts on graphic design’. In the fifteen years that followed, Open Manifesto proved to be a lot more, and threw out the rule book of what a design journal should be. While always delivering a heady mix of knowledge and journalism, Open Manifesto exhibited astonishing breadth, exploring how design intersects across social, cultural, political and economic fields. It sought to understand the way design permeates our lives – past, present and future.
An unsung gem obsessively read by those in the know, Open Manifesto featured essays by and interviews with a host of high profile international thinkers and practitioners. It included designers Michael Bierut, Bob Gill, Milton Glaser, Paula Scher, Ji Lee, George Lois, Jessica Walsh, Wally Olins, Dean Poole, Peter Saville, Ros Moriarty, Vince Frost and Rudy VanderLans. By extending its remit, contributions also came from a diverse range of individuals such as philosopher Edward de Bono, Academy Award winning film director Errol Morris, author Helen Walters, peace activist Rami Elhanan, psychologist Adam Grant, cultural tourism expert Helen Palmer, ex-CIA operative Larry J. Kolb, artist Nicole Foreshew, cyborg Neil Harbisson and real life superhero Master Legend.
These writings and more have been gathered together in a new publication to celebrate the journal’s legacy. Open Manifesto: An Anthology is lovingly curated and crafted, featuring more than 40 essays and interviews, alongside new texts by Kevin Finn, and with a foreword by design commentator Debbie Millman outlining the journal’s fascinating history and undeniable influence.
352 pages, 17 × 24 cm, hardcover, Formist (Sydney).