By harnessing the creative and technical expertise of a team diverse in background and skill set, the digital experience service within manifesto thrives on a culture of sharing and collaboration. Our passionate teams of strategists, creatives and technologists work together to design and build meaningful digital solutions and experiences that make people’s lives easier, better, and fairer.
Through various services that include everything from design and prototyping to research, user experience and technology strategy, our aim is to improve the digital experience for a range of users, organisations and sectors. We talk to Elys Sargunar, a Web and Umbraco developer, about his personal experience at manifesto, the need to lean on your team and the positive effects of knowledge sharing.
What’s involved in digital experience?
As developers working within digital experience, our objective is to harness and grow our digital skills to provide the maximum benefit to our clients where possible. The goal of a developer at manifesto isn't so much about maximising profit, sticking to one technology stack or just regurgitating the same product or service.
Instead, we let our team's research and expertise reveal the answer that provides each project or objective the maximum benefit — and we work from there. This is exciting as a developer, as our skills are always tested and grow much faster than at other organisations.
Our process is that we identify what's best for the client, and then work backwards from that — with quality at the forefront each step of the way.
I've been able to apply my skills across various projects and teams due to our collaborative culture, which I've also really enjoyed. One thing that brings me peace of mind is knowing that before I'm assigned a project, almost every decision and scenario has been thought out clearly by the team ahead of time, allowing me to focus on doing what I do best — developing a great and unique digital experience.
Whether I'm working as part of a team, or on my own, I know that I have the support that I need within the organisation to be able to ask the right questions to the right people, at the right time.
Built on a culture of collaboration
I think most people will agree that it's important to stay ahead of the curve, or at least know where it's going. This is certainly something that I've felt as a developer in manifesto. We have excellent communications channels and resources to ensure that we’re able to reliably forecast where our roles could be changing, and best prepare in ever changing climates.
Our internal processes, although clearly defined, are deliberately malleable enough to cope with these changes when required. As well as this, I have personally had certified training and attended professional events as part of my role. We have access to many online subscriptions and services that enable us to research and discover areas we’re lacking knowledge or experience in.
Development is becoming more and more unconstrained — we're not limited by technology anymore, only by what we can imagine.
Prioritising joy at work
I personally feel that work should be enjoyable, as well as challenging. When these two meet, there is joy. From being able to skillshare with my colleagues, all the chances to follow my personal and professional passion projects, to social events and meetings inside and outside of work, I have to say that I often feel joy at work here at manifesto (I promise, they aren't paying me to say this...)
Making a positive impact is important to me, and being a developer here I've enjoyed many benefits that I wasn't expecting — including chances to work with charity and community projects inside and outside of work, healthcare, wellness, and plenty of social events. There was even a manifesto festival!
manifesto in three words…
My first word would be “collaborative”. Collaboration is at the heart of everything here from the work to all the other things in between.
The second word would be “creative"; not just in our output, but in everything else from how we interact in meetings, to our approach to proposals and our pitches.
And finally, manifesto is “customer focused”. That’s because everything that I've said is all well and good, but we all recognise that the work we do is focused on offering the biggest impact to the people who need our services.