The Faces of Design Manifesto

Here’s what we believe in, and what we are trying to do with this site. Admittedly, calling it a ‘manifesto’ is a bit grand. We’re not starting the October Revolution, after all. However, we wanted to give you a flavour of what we stand for, so you know what to expect from us. And if we don’t measure up to it, we’re counting on you to keep us honest.

1 - We hate advertising. You don't want to see banners disfiguring a perfectly good website, and neither do we. So we don't have any advertising revenue - so what. Either you like this site and you come back to it, or you don't. If you do, that's enough for us.

2 – We may still tell you about companies or products that we think are great. However, we will do so only because we are excited about them and because we feel you might like them, too. When we find something good, we spread the word. However, what you can count on is that we won’t be making any money from it.

3 - Are we objective? Of course we're not. No-one is, in their hearts. We all know that design is a matter of taste, and of emotion.

4 - We don't rank you according to what you pay. Your personal FoD account gives you the opportunity to showcase your work and portfolio to potential clients and employers. Eventually, we may need to charge a small administrative fee to those of you that upload a serious amount of data; however, that won't break your bank. Promise. And there certainly won't any "get a basic portfolio for just 15 bucks a month, and once you upgrade to the next level, people will actually be able to find you, imagine that!". This is not about ripping you off. It's about giving you opportunities. And that's got nothing to do with how much you pay.

5 - This site is about YOU. It's a shot at what we believe you might like to see, what you might find useful or fun or both. So whenever you feel strongly about something - be it good or bad - please let us know! That's the only way we can learn, and do a better job, and be more useful to you in the long run.

6 – Faces of Design is a living thing. Just like you and us, the site will change, and so will this manifesto. Watch this space!

What's the plan?

Basically, we have identified two key problems (or should we say 'opportunities'?) that we would like to tackle here. The first is rather obvious: we want to offer you the chance to openly communicate with other designers and professional design-lovers all over the world. We want to offer you a one-stop-shop for information on all sorts of design-related topics on an international scale, and we want to foster a multi-cultural, interdisciplinary exchange within the international design scene.

The second thought behind this is – admittedly – slightly more business-minded. As you have probably noticed, everyone speaks of design as a major source of differentiation and value creation in today's increasingly mature markets. However, if you talk to people in industry (as we have done rather a lot lately), you start to notice something funny: companies, no matter whether they're big or small, often don't know where they should find good design. Sometimes we wonder if they believe designers grow on trees...? The other funny thing is: there is a wealth of great design talent out there – yet they have very little chance of getting in touch with their potential clients.

So let's say we have identified a gap there. And we believe that, by creating an international network of designers, we might be able to close that gap.

The idea is to give centre-stage to you and your work, and to raise your visibility to potential clients and employers. We will support you in the background, helping you build that bridge. We believe we will be able to do that because we have good contacts at companies that use design, and because we know how to present design work to non-designers. And, as we all know, that's not as easy as it sounds sometimes.

Membership

Membership at Faces of Design is completely free of charge, and we will do what we can to keep it that way. At some point, we may have to charge a small fee for using the full functionality of the site, just to help us cover costs and to keep the site going; however, if that does happen, we will give you plenty of advance warning, and we will do our best to keep the costs as low as possible!

A word of warning !

Yes, we know it's a lot to ask of you to showcase your work here. We all know about the idea piracy problems out there. So let's be clear about this: we will only make your portfolios visible to others when you choose to. If we are going to show your work to anyone, we will speak to you about it beforehand and ask you to select certain pieces that you are prepared to share with them. This is personal, and we know it.

We have a strict zero tolerance policy towards piracy. And if you should encounter problems, we will be here to help you out with any advice we can give you.

By the way: this also counts for any undesirable content on this site. If you feel that someone is crossing a line, we also ask you to let us know. We are keeping a close eye on the work and communication here, but we can obviously not be everywhere. So please help us make this community work!