First Things First

The First Things First manifesto, written in 1963 and published in 1964 by Ken Garland (Garland, 1964) and signed by 20 other creatives, was born out of the growing frustrations in the 60s of these designers, photographers and students who saw more and more advertising of products that they considered a waste of time and efforts. It criticised the industry of wasting time on trivial purposes which contributed little or nothing to national prosperity.

They wanted to make sure that they used their skills and experience on more worthy projects, focusing more on education and public services which would help promote our culture and a greater awareness of the world.

In 2011, I had a similar epiphany. At the time, I was working for a firm who specialised in designing for the home entertainment industry. The main clients that I worked for were Universal Studios, Disney and Fox. As a movie lover this was a dream job. I loved seeing my work on the shelves and even felt pride if a film I’d worked on won an award. In the summer of 2010 however, I had a calling to do something else.

I contacted BMS World Mission with an introductory email explaining that I was willing to volunteer if needed, although as a graphic designer – rather than a doctor, engineer or pastor, I wasn’t sure how I could be of use. Within hours of sending the email I received a phone call from BMS, telling me that at the exact same time I’d sent my email, they had also been sent one from the United Mission to Nepal. In their email it said that they needed a graphic designer urgently. That was all I needed to hear and I was IN. I took a month of holiday (all I was entitled to) and the company I worked for granted me two months of unpaid leave to allow me the opportunity to go to Nepal early in 2011.

The work I did at UMN made me feel something I hadn’t felt in years, if I’d ever really felt it. I helped to update their corporate image, starting with a major update of their logo and publications. I also traveled to some remote locations in Nepal, visiting various projects that they, along with local partners, were doing to help improve the lives of those people who needed it most. I took pictures and gathered stories, and barely thought about the consumer selling that was rife in the UK. Indeed, when I arrived back in the UK and visited a supermarket for the first time, I suffered from what more seasoned missionaries called ‘reverse culture-shock’. I stood in the doorway overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of goods that were available. I returned home without buying anything and had to ask my mum if she would get me some of the essentials that I needed.

I wanted to return to Nepal and do more. This was confirmed to me my first week back at work when somebody from Disney was screaming down the phone about the colour of Woody’s hat on the Toy Story 3 DVD sleeve. From the reaction, you would have thought that the colour proof that had come back would have shown his hat to be blue instead of brown, when in fact it was just a slightly different shade of brown (one that you could barely tell with the naked eye when compared to the swatch from Disney). In that moment I knew that the job I could do in Nepal, while not as glamorous, was worth so much more. I quit my job and joined BMS once again, this time to go for a longer period. That was nearly six years ago, and my feelings of making a difference haven’t changed.

My keyword for FAT 1 is ‘mission’, and with all that Ken Garland’s manifesto means, I want my final project to in some way reflect this attitude and for it to be useful, challenging and maybe life-changing.

Mission: Impossible? I hope not.