Manifest Digital Human Experience Society

Symbol: Protect

Species: Glyph

Text: “Keep safe from harm or injury.” (New Oxford American Dictionary)

Interpretation: Digital technology is re-ordering just about every industry today. Those embracing the spirit of “creative destruction” may say that to Protect should be one’s last instinct; instead, nearly every aspect of an organization’s operations should be reconsidered in the new glow of the Web.

We get that point of view – we’ve told plenty of clients that a cherished product or practice is about to become irrelevant – but we’re over it already.

Companies are going to be disrupted by digital whether they hire a digital agency or not. But an agency like Manifest can play a powerful role in Protecting what’s best about those companies’ human traditions, then help adapt them to a new reality.

In particular, we love recognizing opportunities to Protect company practices that already embrace the Core Truths we have found to be essential to the new digital order. It’s troubling to watch organizations fail to adapt to the Internet, but it’s just as troubling to watch them throw out the best things they have to offer in ill-conceived attempts to stay current. A user-centered design process can prevent this from occurring. With users’ help, we Protect what’s best and discard the rest.

Manifest also feels obligated to Protect the changes we have introduced. When companies embrace innovation, its early days are often fragile – a state we know well from having coordinated hundreds of such Transitions. Because Manifest has already come to know a company’s internal and external users, we are prepared to step in as bodyguards of a change if need be – though our ultimate goal is always to design sustainable changes that Protect themselves.

Connections: Essential to foster the complex changes introduced by Transform. Competency in Protect is often built through experience in Transition. In addition to our Core Truths, Manifest feels obligated to Protect the interpretations of Connect and Create that have helped us remain human-centered in a digital world.