WorkGraphic Design

The Way to Design: Human After All turns a complex manifesto into a beautiful experience

London studio Human After All recently helped Foundation Capital to transform its complex manifesto on the future of entrepreneurship and design into an intuitive digital experience and beautiful printed book.

Written By:
Open book showing "Kinder Wiser" on the left page and "More Beautiful" stamped on the bright pink right cover against a teal background, with a hand holding the page open

Devised originally on the personal and professional experiences of General Partner Steve Vassallo – as well as key figures in the startup community – the manifesto centred on the emerging role of the "designer founders" in companies.

Renaming it The Way to Design, Humans After All worked with illustrator Christopher DeLorenzo to bring the book’s varied concepts to life, and to unite them with a lively, coherent visual language.

In its first month, The Way to Design attracted over 30,000 readers and 5,000 downloads. And it received praise from industry heavyweights such as Joe Gebbia, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Airbnb, who called it "...the first practical and inspirational guide for designers who want to create positive change in the world."

All imagery via Humans After All

The Way to Design book by Steve Vassallo with navy cover and bright pink spine on turquoise background
Close-up of The Way to Design book spine showing pink edge with white text crediting design by Steve Vassallo against a yellow and dark blue background
Dark blue page with pink highlighted text and magenta quote "I made this for you" against a bright pink background
The Way to Design website displayed on laptop and mobile phone screens with navy blue background, white typography and pink button elements against a purple backdrop
Website homepage for The Way to Design manifesto displaying the tagline "It's a journey, a creative expedition" with a bright pink prologue section below on a dark navy background
Two iPhone screens displaying The Way to Design manifesto app on a yellow background, showing the digital experience with bold typography and text passages
Two pages from The Way to Design manifesto book designed by Human After All, featuring cyan typography, line illustrations by Christopher DeLorenzo, and text layout on navy and white backgrounds
Bold typography reading "Playing for Real" with "Prologue" subtitle on bright pink background, a page from The Way to Design manifesto
Title page for Chapter 1 of The Way to Design manifesto, featuring bold outlined lettering in navy blue on a bright turquoise background with decorative arrow and wave elements
Bold magenta cover featuring "BEING STEVE JOBS CHAPTER 2" in dark blue outlined lettering with graphic elements inside the letters
Blue book cover showing "Chapter 1" and "The Way" text in geometric lettering against a golden background
Bright magenta pages of The Way to Design manifesto book unfold to reveal Christopher DeLorenzo's black line illustrations on a dark blue background
Bright magenta book cover featuring bold curved typography and a browser window containing "CHAPTER 2" against a teal background
Hand-drawn alphabet and numerals in white and gold lettering on a dark blue background, used in The Way to Design typeface
Close-up of an open page from The Way to Design book displaying white text on a dark blue background with an arrow graphic, discussing entrepreneurial design tools and founder questions
Two pages from The Way to Design manifesto book by Human After All, featuring a black and white photograph and motivational text on a bright pink background
Illustrated manifesto page with hand-drawn typography reading "Build a finer kinder wiser more beautiful more joyful equitable world" in outline letters, with "Design Better" highlighted in bold pink lettering on a teal background
Close-up of The Way to Design book pages showing bold navy and hot pink typography with overlapping text layers on white paper against a purple background
Close-up of The Way to Design book cover featuring bold pink geometric typography and "The Way to Design" tagline on white paper against an orange background
Share

Further Reading