Kickstarter

Update! We published an update about the production values of The Manual.

The Manual is a new, beautifully crafted journal that takes a fresh look, in print, at design on the web. Published three times a year—with the first due this summer—each issue will have six substantial, beautifully illustrated feature articles, along with several additional pages of rich material.

The articles focus on bringing a greater depth and maturity to our craft and profession, with contributions in the first issue from wonderfully talented artists and writers such as Simon Collison, Frank Chimero, Liz Danzico, Dan Rubin, Jon Tan, and the Web Standardistas.

Ethos

A wave of energy is quietly moving through the community of those who take interactive design seriously: popping up at conferences, in tweets and blog posts and in adrenalized chats over beer when we gather. As one of these people, you are The Manual’s perfect reader—or one of its future contributors. The Manual chronicles our growing movement, archiving the insights of our best thinkers and writers, as we define a more mature understanding of this serious new discipline and more effectively tell the story of our work. Putting ink to paper crystallizes reasoning. The Manual will help smart designers, like you, look at your next project in a different way, questioning your choices.

We recognize, along with you, that web design is a distinct discipline, its roots firmly in graphic design yet now adding its own principles, tools, and visual language. Everything we do requires a good hard look, and you’ll find that intensive examination in each issue. You won’t find markup and code, tutorials, and galleries in The Manual.

Print

The physicality of The Manual has a purpose. Where do we find our true inspiration? Not in the distracting devices we stare at or peck at with our thumbs. It comes when we step away from technology and, instead, reflect. Walk away, The Manual in hand; read it at the park, by the river, in a pub, over coffee. It’s crafted in the beautiful form that designers expect and respect, and after savoring and absorbing what’s inside, you’ll return to your work invigorated, musing, challenged, or on fire. You’ll want, more than ever, to help move this conversation along.

Debut

Our plan is to make the first issue of The Manual exclusively available through our Kickstarter project — and we’re proud to have our friends Frank Chimero, Simon Collison, Liz Danzico, Dan Rubin, Christopher Murphy and Nicklas Persson (aka the Web Standardistas), Jon Tan, Carolyn Wood and top illustrators on board to produce work for the inaugural publication.

Rewards

If your support gets us to our goal, the money will be used to write, edit, illustrate, design, publish, print, and ship the first issue of The Manual. We respect our contributors; writers, illustrators, and the creators of the magazine will be paid for their work.

Each level of support includes rewards from limited edition copies of the first issue, to screenprints, bookmarks, postcards, and badges—all of which will be produced by The Manual’s lead designer (and all-round amazing talent) Mr. Jez Burrows.

As a supporter of the project you will have special full access to the behind-the-scenes journey of creating the first issue; you’ll receive exclusive updates asking you questions and encouraging your comments—which will help shape The Manual. When the project reaches its goal, the story will continue to be available to you as we post videos, photos, and entries.

Team

Andy McMillan is the mind behind Build, a small yet perfectly formed annual boutique design conference and week-long event in Belfast. He will manage and publish The Manual.

Carolyn Wood is a writer, editor, and strategist through her company Pixelingo, is editor in chief of the upcoming typography journal, Codex, and serves on the editorial staff of A List Apart. She will be editor and contributor to The Manual.

Jez Burrows is a designer, illustrator, and forest enthusiast based in Edinburgh. He has worked with top clients including The New York Times, Wired, GOOD, and Monocle. He will design and art direct The Manual.

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