About
The Manual, Everywhere
£43,220
616
What is The Manual?
The Manual is a design journal for the web. Rather than focus on technical how-to, we examine why we design, sharing ideas and stories about people, history, culture, philosophy, and design theory, all applied to our practice on the web.
We published three issues from 2011–2012 exclusively in print, each featuring an in-depth article and personal lesson from six contributing authors. With the release of Issue 4 in October, we’re returning to publishing three issues per year, and at the same time, moving The Manual beyond just print—releasing all our issues as a free web edition, as well as new ebook and audiobook editions.
But we need your help to make this sustainable.
What’s changing?
1. We’re publishing online, for free.
We’re publishing all our articles and lessons on the web—free for all to read, share, and reference—under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial license.
2. We’re publishing new ebook and audiobook editions.
In addition to our beautiful print edition, you can now enjoy our articles and lessons wherever you read—on your e-reader, tablet, phone, MP3 player, or your computer—as we expand to new ebook and audiobook editions.
3. We’re inviting you to pay.
We’re building a business model around generosity. The Manual will be free and open on the web by default, with voluntary web subscriptions and sales and subscriptions from our ebook, audiobook, and print editions supporting future issues.
Why do we need help?
We’ve been working hard to push The Manual beyond just print—into a free web edition, ebooks, and audiobooks. We want you to enjoy The Manual however you’d like, to share our issues openly, and—most importantly—to reflect, respond to, and reference our articles and lessons.
We believe we’re producing an invaluable force for good for our community. We want to contribute more fully to the conversation around designing for the web. Making The Manual free by default is a big risk, but we believe it’s a risk worth taking.
If you value The Manual, please consider pledging towards a subscription, and help us publish now and well into the future.
Rewards
➤ Our rewards are one-year subscriptions. Here’s how they work:
- The Manual publishes three issues per year.
- Each issue has four different editions: web, audiobook, ebook, and print.
- Ebook and audiobook editions will be available exclusively to subscribers two weeks before going on general sale.
- Web editions will be available exclusively to subscribers two weeks before becoming publicly available on our website.
Pledge £15 (~$25 / €19) or more — Web Subscription: One-year subscription (Issues 4, 5, and 6) in new Web edition.
Pledge £25 (~$40 / €30) or more — Ebook Subscription: One-year subscription (Issues 4, 5, and 6) in new Ebook and Web editions.
Pledge £35 (~$55 / €45) or more — Audiobook & Ebook Subscription: One-year subscription (Issues 4, 5, and 6) in new Audiobook, Ebook, and Web editions.
Pledge £55 (~ $90 / €70) or more — Print & Ebook Subscription: One-year subscription (Issues 4, 5, and 6) in new Print, Ebook, and Web editions. (Includes shipping of all three issues, anywhere in the world.)
★ Gift Subscriptions
Pledge £55 (~$90 / €70) or more — Library Gift Subscription: Gift a subscription to a library! We’ll donate 3 Print issues to a school, college, university or public library in your name. You can choose your favorite library, or we’ll pick one for you. (Read more on our Kickstarter update.)
★ Full Subscriptions (All Editions)
Pledge £85 (~ $135 / €110) or more — Full Subscription: One-year subscription (Issues 4, 5, and 6) in all our editions: Print, Audiobook, Ebook, and Web. (Includes cost of shipping of all books, anywhere in the world.)
Pledge £125 (~ $200 / €160) or more — Supporter: Everything in our Full Subscription, plus T-shirt and Canvas Tote Bag with The Manual’s striking new identity. (Includes cost of shipping of all books + goods, anywhere in the world.)
Pledge £145 (~ $230 / €185) or more — Newcomer: Everything in our Full Subscription, plus Issues 1, 2, and 3 in Print and Ebook editions, in our ltd. edition engraved plywood Volume I case. (Includes cost of shipping of all books, anywhere in the world. Read more on our Kickstarter update.)
★ Kickstarter Exclusive Rewards
Pledge £300 (~ $480 / €380) or more — The Fellowship: Everything in the Supporter level, plus an invitation to join our Fellowship, an exclusive community of readers who will help shape the future of The Manual. (Read more on our blog post.)
- Pledge £1500 (~ $2400 / €1900) or more — Field Trip to Iceland: Everything in the The Fellowship, plus an invitation to join us on a tour of our printing facilities in beautiful Reykjavik, Iceland in March 2015. We’ll cover your accommodation and meals and share our plans for The Manual’s future over 3 days and 2 nights of good food, drink and conversation.
- Pledge £5000 (~ $8000 / €6400) or more — Patron: Give back to your community by supporting a free and open web edition of The Manual. We'll honor your patronage with a credit in each of our editions, and offer Full Subscriptions (up to 10) for your team. (Read more on our Kickstarter update.)
Who’s building this?
- Andy McMillan, Publisher
- Mari Huertas, Operations Director
- Paulo Pereira, Digital Designer
- Lisa Sanchez, Editor-In-Chief
- David McMillan, Art Director
Contact
- Email: hi@themanual.org
-
Twitter: @themanual
- Download our press kit
Risks and challenges
We don’t foresee any risks or challenges in completing the site launch since we’re growing close to completion. Our ebook versions of books 1–4 already are produced. Our audiobook recording sessions for book No. 4 are booked for the end of September at Women’s Audio Mission — a non-profit, and the only audio studio owned and operated exclusively by women in the United States.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterQuestions about this project? Check out the FAQ