Great designers are always telling other designers how to design, what stance to take – what kind of a designer to be. Objective or subjective, informative or provocative, personal or formal. Some think a designer should take part in the public debate while others think a designer should stick to what he knows. There are endless theories on what and how a graphic designer should be.

This publication is compiled of four design manifests titled ‘This is how you should be’ paraphrased from three great Dutch designers/theorists : Wim Crouwel, Jan van Toorn and Max Bruinsma. Crouwel advocates for the informative and objective designer. While Van Toorn states that every designer is influenced by personal opinions and will therefore always design subjective work. Bruinsma goes a step further and calls on all designers to act as ‘cultural agents’ or stimulators of cultural and public debate.

The last manifest is titled ‘How should you be’ and is written by me. In this manifest I analyze the statements that Wim Crouwel, Jan van Toorn and Max Bruinsma promote. By doing so I conclude that a designer should do what feels right and stop listening to other designers.

The manifests are presented as a publication held together by a band. When folded out each manifest acts as a poster.
To read the manifests (only in Dutch) click here.