Open Manifesto #2

Open Manifesto is an independent journal focusing on the intersection of design culture with social, cultural, political and economic issues.

In issue #2—Interpreting Visual Language: Among others, Edward de Bono discusses the power of visual language and the immediacy it provides over verbal language, how the brain organises visual patterns and why he chooses to draw as he speaks when delivering a presentation. Ros Moriarity explains how enduring knowledge about preserving the (Australian) continent, for maybe 10,000 years, was enshrined in the symbols of Aboriginal visual language, handed down through both ceremony and daily life. Stefan Sagmeister debunks his previous ‘Style=Fart’ motto, shares his views on globalisation, talks about his earlier aspirations to be a musician or film director, discusses his first year without clients and offers his comments on Australian design. Ingvar Kenne talks about the universality of the image as a means of communication, discusses his difficulty in getting clients to use Aboriginal models in fashion shoots and offers his views on the rise of digital photography. While, Andrew Barnum asks Professor Ross Gibson whether there an Australian graphic tradition, discusses how design feeds into national identity and talks about the opportunism involved in the appropriation of Indigenous culture without proper context.