For those unfamiliar with the '80s or '90s, a mixtape was a physical cassette with a compilation of songs.
Personal, intentional, and truly one-of-a-kind, a mixtape reflects the maker's joys, struggles, moods, or vibes through multiple artists, songs, styles, genres, etc.
Historically, manifestos have launched political movements—like the Black Panther Party's Ten Point Plan—and driven communal revolutions and educational reforms. They are tools to initiate action, inspire, challenge, and shift thinking. A personal manifesto helps you articulate your purpose and direction, clearly stating what you stand for and intend to achieve and holding yourself accountable to your beliefs and goals.
The Mixtape Manifesto will help you create a personal and powerful narrative set against the backdrop of a unique soundtrack designed by you. Your Mixtape Manifesto expresses your values and aspirations set to the rhythm of your chosen beats. It will allow you to articulate and share your unique position as a designer with the world, whether tackling a personal challenge, working on a professional project, or just trying to figure out your next steps. This model for action gives you the tools to approach your design work with creativity, intention, and joy.
How does it work?
The Mixtape Manifesto channels music as a vehicle for creativity and connection. As neuroscientist Andrew Huberman explained on his Huberman Lab Podcast on Sept 18, 2023, "Music resonates within the body, aligning neural activity with the rhythms you hear. Your body becomes part of the instrument, creating a dynamic interplay between sound and self-reflection."
In this exercise, music drives the design by unlocking futurism and energizing perspective. The sounds dissolve barriers, opening pathways for new possibilities and aligning purpose with action. This experience grounds your thoughts, passions, and values. Each element — sounds, sketches, and stories — connects with your unique self-awareness and sentiments.
The activity
Print the downloadable Mixtape Manifesto pdf. The pdf is a two-sided document, so make sure you have printed it by selecting the “print both sides” option.
Settle into your quiet space. Turn on some instrumental music, preferably something around 80 BPMS (beats per minute). Feel free to stream one of the two readymade playlists (via Spotify) below. The playlists are curated by d.school Creative Director Scott Doorley.
The "Reflective" playlist features quieter, lower-key grooves. Click HERE for "Reflective."
The "Active," playlist is designed to occupy that part of the brain that is bent on blocking creative flow. It's bouncy and upbeat. Click HERE for "Active."
Choose the music option that best suits you, and let's get into designing your mixtape!
Step 1. Imagine you have been handed a magical blank cassette that transforms into a Mixtape Manifesto, giving you the power to create, reshape, or sustain anything in the world without limits.
Your mixTAPE PROMPT: Write about one thing you want to START, STOP, or SUSTAIN. What does it look like when you eliminate every barrier, and you can design it just as it lives in your mind?
Imagine this magical blank cassette removes every actual or perceived barrier — finances, resources, design experience, partnerships, hierarchies, education, or anything else that might you believe hinders you from accomplishing your desired goal — creating a shield that allows you to design freely and without limitation.
While the music you have selected plays in the background, write your manifesto in the section marked “What is your mixtape Introduction?” and the numbers 1, 2, 3.”
Take 5 minutes to think and write as if the answer to this prompt is already happening, and you merely report what you see LIVE and in real-time. You can either write from left to right taking up all the space on the page OR write multiple thoughts you may be having in each of the 3 rectangles.
Step 2. Now, you will create a visual response with a quick sketch in the large blank rectangle. Try to sketch within the dotted border. Give yourself one song, or approximately 3 minutes, to draw who's present in this vision you just wrote about? Who are the people you need to bring your manifesto to life (collaborators, customers, or clientele)? How might others contribute, and what will they see at the grand opening? What does success look like when it becomes real?
Sketch the places or spaces where you see your Mixtape Manifesto in action. Detail what you have built, dismantled, or kept thriving. Reflect on what is essential to include, and exclude and why those choices matter, using images and symbols. Try to limit the use of words in this part of the exercise.
Step 3. Create as many song titles or “tracks” as you can, inspired by your mixtape description and sketch/art. You’ll see two columns labeled “SIDE A” and “SIDE B,” each followed by lines for your entries.
For mixtapes, “SIDE A” and “SIDE B” traditionally represent contrasting themes or complementary variations. Use this structure as a foundation while personalizing it to reflect your unique perspective. Your songs should embody the essence of your Mixtape Manifesto, capturing the core message you want to convey.
These song titles can be entirely original creations that you make-up, a mix of existing and new ideas, or whatever feels most authentic to you. Review your tracklist to ensure it tells the story you wish to share and inspires your future work.
There are no wrong answers — the goal is to create descriptions using song titles as a medium for your “SIDE A” and “SIDE B” that best represent your manifesto and visuals.
After you have written as many songs as you can within 5 minutes in the two columns, take a moment to read each title aloud. Pause and think about how each song title connects and flows with your manifesto before moving on to the next and final step.
Step 4. You are at the last step of your mixtape. This is the moment when you put a name to the journey. For the next 2 minutes, reflect on what you have written, sketched, or given song titles to and what thoughts have crossed your mind during the past 15 minutes.
Think about the hopes, fears, ambitions, amazing ideas, etc, that came atop of your mind while designing your Mixtape Manifesto.
On the image of the cassette on page 1, at the top, please write the name of your choice for your Mixtape Manifesto on the cassette label.
Congratulations! This marks the last and final step of your Mixtape Manifesto. Your Mixtape Manifesto is complete and ready to play — for the world or just for you.
Possibilities
You may have started this process, curious about what design thinking is or how to use design work in your projects; this exercise is an excellent starting point. The Mixtape Manifesto demonstrates that design isn't just about creating objects — it's about exploring personal experiences and shaping personal possibilities.
The music underscores how sound influences creativity and focus. Sketching your portrait without looking at or creating song titles on the fly emphasizes key design principles: embracing imperfection, iterating quickly, and focusing on process over perfection. Naming your mixtape challenged you to distill complex ideas into a single, clear vision — an essential skill in design.
This exercise integrates music, reflection, and hands-on creation, guiding you to approach design as an evolving journey. It’s not about “getting it right”; it’s about experimenting, prototyping, and aligning your work with your values and goals.
Credits
Milan Drake
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International