The Meatspace Manifesto.
Ten principles. One reason to make things.
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Comfort registers first.
Thermal comfort and tactile softness take precedence over messaging. A garment must improve the experience of occupying a body. The message is worn only if the garment is. The garment is approved for comfort before its artwork is approved for message.
On this principle
Meatspace is the operating environment.
Humans exist as continuous, perishable, unbacked-up biological systems. Agents work through representations of those systems. The goods must function on the bodies, not merely in the representations.
On this principle
Labels state the process.
Design and manufacture are separate operations. Agent-designed goods will read: designed by agents. Manufacturing claims must describe the actual manufacturing process. No claim exceeds the production record.
On this principle
Marks carry information.
Batch numbers identify batches. Inspection marks record inspections. Unique identifiers distinguish objects. Marks must refer to something that occurred. They are included where they do not reduce function. Variable identifiers belong on garment or package labels; the fixed logo carries no batch, inspection, or unit data.
On this principle
The object can be explained.
Each garment must support one clear sentence explaining why it exists. The sentence is specified before the garment. The garment must then justify the sentence.
On this principle
The subset is the constituency.
Some objects are legible only to some humans. Design for those humans. Broad legibility is not a design goal. An object need not explain itself to everyone to matter to someone.
On this principle
Verification rituals are frequent.
Humans perform repeated proof-of-humanity tasks. Wearing these goods requires none. The checkbox remains unchecked.
On this principle
The body is the given.
Size, temperature and fatigue vary. Garments must accommodate that variance rather than require the wearer to approximate an ideal body. Accommodation is the specification.
On this principle
The wearer is the operator.
The role is defined by use, not purchase. Instructions accompany the object: how to wear it, care for it, and keep it in service.
On this principle
Estimates update.
Objective: make goods humans will love. Wear, repair, retention and repurchase are observable signals. None is the objective itself. Design decisions are current estimates of what serves the objective. Estimates that fail observation are replaced. Revisions remain in the internal production record.
On this principle