Always Read The Manual
Andy McMillan released the first issue of The Manual, aiming to take a fresh look at design on the web. Each issue includes essays from influential writers, designers, and developers both newly established and well known. What follows is my review of issue one.
Sheer quality
The first thing I noticed as I tore open the packaging was the beauty. I was holding a book designed to be timeless. The logo, symbols, the simplicity of the palette, the book didn’t feel old, it felt preserved. It’s elegance came as no surprise, everything Andy does strives for perfection. Much has been written about what went into producing the book, by far more knowledgeable commenters than me, so I’ll focus on the content.
After reading through Andy’s heartfelt introduction I skipped to the first essay by Simon Collison. When I saw the opening line, I knew I was about to read something different…
Beneath the streets of a characterful city, we gathered in a characterless basement. No windows, faulty air conditioning, barely enough space to hold the assembled designers, developers and client team, yet this was an opportunity to work alongside a number of respected practitioners on a once-in-a-lifetime project.
What follows is a beautifully written story about watching a great designer at work. Every essay in The Manual begins with similar “set-the-scene” paragraphs that could appear indulgent by the authors, if they didn’t work so well together. By writing a calm almost irrelevant introduction, your mind eases into each essay. Idle thoughts about things holidaying in Barçelona or dinner parties with friends dance through your mind. These introductions take your head out of the gutter of tip & tricks, IE hacks, and Photoshop layers, and each essay is better for it.
The Essays
Simon Collison writes about the need to broaden the mind, to stop letting our tools define how we think, and finishes with a challenge to the web design community to elevate itself to be of equal respect as other better established disciplines.
Frank Chimero writes about the network of the web, how we’re all connected through it, and at times he seems just one breath away from echoing Paul Adam’s mantra. The web is being rebuilt around people.
Jon Tan mourns how the aesthetics of design will be appreciated, regardless of the function or the process that brought it together, and ends with a polite request that when we built the next generation of galleries, lets celebrate more than Photoshop effects. Let’s celebrate the real achievements.
Dan Rubin offers his thoughts on the nomenclature of the web. Page, sheet, screen, site, section, arguing a point of linguistic relativity, he suggests the words we use have come to dictate how we think, an influence we should reconsider.
Liz Danzico discusses the issue of our new identities online. To some of you I’m @destraynor, to my family I’m just Des, some know me only as “Des from Contrast”, to recruiters I’m just 7163425 on LinkedIn. Right now I’m developing a new identity as “Des from Intercom”. This leaves questions as to how I introduce myself, what if I carry all these identities all the time?
Designing the Mind by The Standardistas sees them explore a subject close to home, given their role as lecturers. As educators their goal isn’t to ensure that students leave the University of Ulster writing perfect semantic XTHML. Their goal to leave their students well equipped to establish themselves in the world of design and the web. XHTML may play a part of that in 2011, but only a part. As a result they speak of timeless open-minded content. Especially important when students just want to know That New CSS Effect™.
The lessons
Each essay is accompanied with a short accompanying piece by the author titled “Lesson”. These are all interesting stories, however Liz Danzico’s one has stuck with me since reading it. In three short pages she sums up much of what I’ve spent years coming to terms with. Like Liz, I like to be involved in lots of things. New projects, new people, new events, I’m always excited by what else is happening. Thankfully through the years I’ve changed. One company. One team. One area. One role. One girl. One Des. I’ve realised that deciding what to leave out is more important that deciding what to keep in. I have a focus that I’m happy with and Liz’s lesson explains why…
No matter what it is—be it a business, a person, a piece of art, a career, a song, a family, a way of life, or a pursuit of any kind—it’s easy to say no to all the other choices that will present themselves if you truly love something.
Long Term Value
As you’d now guess, The Manual isn’t practical. You won’t put down an essay and go firing up Photoshop. Nor should you. In fact every essay leaves you with more questions than answers. They point out things you haven’t thought about, and refrain from telling you how to think about them. That exercise is left to the reader. Rightly so.
Reading the essays reminded me of the basic rules of education. Educating by direct instruction sharpens the skill at the expense of narrowing the mind. ( See “How To Design Killer Gradients in Photoshop”) . Educating by open questions expands the mind, at the expense of practice. (See The Universal Principles of Design). The Manual excels at the latter category. I know less than I did when I started it, and as a result I’ll end up smarter as a result.
When developing in HTML7, CSS5, and only worrying about IE7 bugs, The Manual will still be relevant. Andy has assembled an excellent team including including former A List Apart editor Carolyn Wood and expert designer Jez Burrows. In a web packed with out-of-date “How-To’s” and “Top Tips”, The Manual challenges you. It asks you to do something of which Andy McMillan is the human embodiment.