Manifesto

5.1.16
MANIFESTO graphic design / marketing / branding / advertising celebrates 20 years of business on May 1, 2016. Wow! Bring out the china (traditional 20 year gift). The goal of MANIFESTO was always to utilize design to best communicate the need at hand. Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, start-ups— it didn’t matter. Every client project was treated the same way— design this thing as if it were your own and make sure it does what it is supposed to do. During twenty years of doing this a few things have been learned (or already known and just confirmed). Here are 20 of them:

20 Things Learned in Twenty Years
1. Good design is powerful
2. Not everyone is capable of recognizing good design
3. Not every agency is capable of producing good design
4. The client is the one paying the bills
5. The client is not always right
6. Respect is a 2-way street
7. Building a reputation is never-ending and hard
8. Destroying a reputation can happen quickly and is easy
9. Agencies that pass off other peoples’ work as their own are thieves
10. Long-term relationships are the best and are indeed valued
11. There is always more than one way to do something
12. People should be treated the way you would like to be treated on the worst of your days
13. Lies, excuses, and pettiness do not belong in professional environments
14. Nor do politics or religion
15. If you make a mistake, fix it
16. Help people when there is an opportunity to help
17. You can always learn something
18. Teach something when you are able
19. Promptly returned phone calls and emails are a professional courtesy
20. So are paying bills on time

These are just a handful of what has been discussed around here. It never hurts to reinforce what may seem obvious. Especially if hearing or reading something serves as a gentle reminder.