Change This

Ah, manifestos. They have good intentions and yet in some ways I wonder if their very existence is a bit of a cry wolf in a world that has seemingly had its fill of mantras.
Regardless, I'm a fan of those who make a public statement about what they want to do in their lifetime. And then invite others along as they wish. Paul Polak's endeavours and background make me believe that design can and must look different in the 21st century. If you want to, you can vote too.

Design, The Future and the Human Spirit

...designers have to seek autonomy and use it, if possible, for socially and environmentally productive ends. They must confront a world that is becoming increasingly polarized: wealth versus poverty; fundamentalist religion versus secular humanism; environmental sustainability versus ecological destruction; and technological utopianism versus technological resistance. To position one's self among these and other oppositional forces requires an intensive reflection on one's own values, goals and social concerns. It also calls for an operational strategy to align one's self with other social actors and institutions, whose concerns are compatible with one's own.

by Victor Margolin
Design Issues: Volume 23, Number 3, Summer 2007