Our manifesto
Our manifesto acts as a compass and a challenge. Its heart lies in setting the highest standards – not just for ourselves, but for everyone who shares our space, clients, collaborators and competitors.
Welcome to our manifesto for change.
1. everyone in, no one forgotten
We believe inclusivity, diversity and accessibility should be foundational to all the experiences we create and set standards for how they work.
They also guide the way we behave, setting a standard for our culture. Culture is what culture does. It’s an ever-changing sum of the things that all of us do and how we behave, all of the time. Being genuinely open and inclusive is about far more than policies – it’s about a workplace where everyone feels they belong, where they can show up as themselves with no pressure to ‘fit in’.
Everyone belongs, it’s who we are.
2. no planet? no nothing
The digital industry is responsible for around 4% of global emissions; more than the aviation industry.
We have committed to making the planet a stakeholder in every one of our projects, building in actions to reduce negative environmental impact wherever possible.
We’ve taken the time and effort to understand the part we play on our projects and how we can make decisions in design and development to make products that are not only beautiful and engaging – but sustainable.
No excuses.
3. meet challenges with curiosity
Thankfully, we don’t all think the same way, so we don’t expect to agree on everything. We know that diversity of ideas creates better outcomes and that diversity can’t happen without true inclusivity. All voices, ideas and opinions are welcome.
We invite challenge and we know our clients welcome constructive and respectful challenge too. We do that by being curious, through our insights and experience, and as a supportive, critical friend. We expect our teams to disagree agreeably and then commit together.
Stay humble, stay brave.
4. hold space for joy, magic follows
There’s lots to fix out there, and plenty to worry about, but let’s not lose our sense of humour along the way.
Yes, we’re doing serious work – but creativity, serendipity and magic have become elusive in digital products. We are on a mission to reinstall them in the service of better engagement. And for that to happen, we should make time for positivity.
Optimism is a choice and we actively seek it out.
5. make pride a kpi
We’re all pouring our precious time into our work, so let’s be proud of absolutely everything we do.
We believe team pride should be one of the performance measures for good digital experiences. Engaged, fulfilled and empowered teams deliver products and services we can take pride in.
If you wouldn’t put your name on it, don’t put it out.
6. tech (might) save us
As technologies evolve, we meet them with the right balance of curious excitement and pragmatism – unpicking their value proposition with challenge and open minds.
Our guardrails let us interrogate value, relevance and credibility – designing ethically and responsibly, without being dazzled by fads, whims or gimmicks.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
7. comfortable with the uncomfortable
Uncertainty is a permanent state right now, it’s hard to understand and recognise, and it can create fear.
But welcoming uncertainty can turn it into positive energy, high creativity, and can unlock opportunities we didn’t see before. It can also make us more resilient to the hard knocks. Sometimes the most constrained and testing road is the best road to strength and innovation.
We embrace uncertainty.
8. don’t just say it, do it
It’s no longer enough to talk about ‘doing good’. We are committed to building good.
We benchmark and improve all of our digital products, services and experiences across the following areas:
Impact // Purpose // Accessibility // Inclusivity // Usability // Security // Sustainability
We've taken this commitment into every one of our methods, frameworks and tools – a way to hold ourselves and stay true to our mission. Time is precious, and analysis paralysis helps no one. Move from theory into practice. Take a risk.
Try something new – It might just work.
9. pause, breathe and step away
The pace of life can often feel unrelenting. But it's on each of us to practise self-care, patience, and to be happy sitting with the problem once in a while.
We actively encourage our teams to go outside, take a walk, experience all that being alive has to give. Challenges will still be there, but they might look a little less challenging with the gift of space, away from a screen.
We commit to make time for each other, to create time for reflection, thinking space and balance. We are building this into the way we look after our teams and resource our projects. We treat our clients with the same respect.
Look after yourself. Look out for each other. Shift and Space.
Let’s be the change we want to see
Our manifesto is here to be challenged and we invite that. It will need to adapt as the world around us continues to change and new opportunities and obstacles emerge. We believe it sets us up to realise the full potential of digital as a force for good – but we can’t do it alone. If you’re aligned with our mission, please join us on the journey. Imagine if we did all of this together?
Get in touch
We’re building a better future for people, places and the planet. If you need support to solve your organisation’s biggest challenges we’d love to help.
Email us at hello@manifesto.co.uk or use the form below.