Under his studio name
Optigram, Manuel’s design work explores abstraction, camouflage, geometry and science fiction. He
has created artwork for several electronic music labels and in 2020 a selection of his record covers for Hyperdub was exhibited at London’s Design Museum. Commissions beyond the record industry have included book design, apparel patterns, visual identities and experimental animation.
His
Fictions Design work focuses on worldbuilding for film and television productions through the conception and development of cultural environments, semiotic designs and language systems.
He is co-founder of
Strange Machine, a film production company that provides a creative platform for alternative voices and which aims to work outside of film industry conventions.
He was editor and publisher of
After Us, a print journal which gave artists and writers the space to explore ideas across the nexus of art, science and politics, with thought to future societies.
For 10 years he owned and ran the retrofuturist electrofunk record label,
Citinite, and since 2011 he has hosted
Nitetrax, a monthly club and experimental music show on NTS Radio.