The future is not what it used to be. Blue-chips are down.  General instability means that all projections are in-credible. In such moments, belief becomes creative. Clarity of intention and transparency of creed are the path and the light through the fog of uncertainty.

The 2nd Istanbul Design Biennial will take place between 1 November to 14 December 2014… The Future Is Not What It Used To Be…  Zoë Ryan revisits the manifesto as a platform and catalyst for critical thinking in design… how can we reclaim the manifesto for the 21st century and beyond, not only in the production of texts, but through actions, services, provocations, or objects and seize the potential to incite inventive outcomes? … a call for ideas… manifestos that opened new attitudes and sensibilities, highlighted underexplored or overlooked aspects of society, and prompted further investigation and exchange about our designed and constructed age…

One of the included projects is the Mapmaker Manifesto, a collection of 18 maps compiled by the design collective, Stamen.  Their call includes a text, beginning with “Speak in pictures whenever possible”, which at first glance would appear to be a manifesto in the 20th century style. But it quickly gets less bold after the first sentence, devolving into reminders and guidelines.

They mean that first sentence. Speak in pictures whenever possible. It is the collection of maps itself which constitutes the manifesto.

Go check it out. The maps are on tumblr. I love them all, especially Ross Kelly’s Quasi Political Maps. (Who are you, Ross? I’m coming to Vancouver this month. Let’s hang out?) And it was warm to remember the Sharjah CityMap (which has much so terra incognita on it and is really just like an early exploration).

And, when you are finished looking, go look at the world. And “make your own map.”

Make your own map.