While there are countless posts and dozens of books about content design, there isn’t really a shared statement that says, this is who we are. This is what we do. This is what we believe. This is where we’re headed. A manifesto is a written statement or declaration that outlines the beliefs, values, and intentions of a group or individual. It’s often used to express a vision for the future. It can also advocate for a particular cause or movement—or, in this case, an entire field of practice.
That’s what we needed—not only for our community to rally around, but for anyone who’s curious about what we do and why. You don’t need to work in design to value content in product that’s purposeful, meaningful, inclusive, and clear. (And if you do value it, now’s always a great time to learn more about content design!)
This manifesto was created collaboratively through a structured process designed and facilitated by Torrey Podmajersky. Thirteen authors worked independently, in pairs, and as a group to draft the first version. The same authors continued the work asynchronously in an online collaborative document to finalize the second version. The document was then shared with a wider group of individuals, who were identified by the original authors as important thinkers and voices in content design and adjacent fields.
The original participants. Front row, left to right: Morgan Quinn, Relly Annett-Baker, Michael Restiano, Vidhika Bansal, Natalie Dunbar, Aladrian Goods; Back row: Torrey Podmajersky, Erica Jorgensen, John Paz, Jonathon Colman, Keri Maijala, Melinda Howard Belcher. Photo credit: Kristina Halvorson
Our hope is that this manifesto not only serves to communicate the purpose and value of content design, but also provides a clear vision for where our work needs to go next.
This is Content Design 