Words The Kanto team
Images DTI – Design Center of the Philippines
An archipelago of possibilities
In the landscape of Philippine design, the urgent question of how we embrace our unique identity as an archipelago long shaped and constrained by colonial legacies resonates now more than ever. The panel The State of Philippine Design marked the opening of the 13th edition of Design Week Philippines, hosted by the Design Center of the Philippines. This year’s celebration, themed “Unearthing Islandness,” builds on the impactful Once Upon a Place segment at the recent International Design Conference, where Emerging Islands co-founders Nicola Sebastian and Sam Zarandin kept the audience spellbound with an evocative introduction to the concepts of Islandness and Archipelagic Thinking. That keynote appears to have struck a chord, evolving into a full-blown theme for this year’s Design Week, a seven-day, nationwide celebration of the empowering nature of design.
Last Saturday, the Yuchengco Museum’s Y Space at RCBC Plaza in Makati City thrummed with anticipation as a diverse panel gathered beneath a cascade of paper sculptures by artist Tes Pasola. The audience closely followed the rich conversation among anthropologist Corazon Alvina, marketer Paolo Mercado, creative director Natasha Tanjutco, and entrepreneur Rambie Lim, moderated by design strategist Karina Abola. They delved into the intricate dance between design and our archipelagic identity, tackling the year’s achievements in design and proposing pathways for realizing the potential and opportunities for the nation’s designers.
The panelists reached a consensus on several critical insights: design is a skill open to all, but like any craft, it needs nurturing and refinement. They emphasized the importance of reconnecting with our natural heritage and embracing the time-honored wisdom passed down by our ancestors—wisdom that has too often been overshadowed by Western ideals. The panelists affirmed that our diversity and archipelagic identity are not limitations but rather superpowers. The waters we often fear—intrinsic to our identity as an island nation—should be viewed not as barriers but as connectors that bind us together.
The nature of design
Design, as Corazon Alvina, director of Museo ng Kaalamang Katutubo, aptly described, is an entire ecosystem, a process that goes beyond aesthetics to include the material and immaterial, the tangible and intangible. “Design is a plan,” she stated, but it’s also a thinking process that requires sensitivity to the environment and the layers of knowledge we carry as a people. This sensitivity extends not only to the objects we create but to the ecosystems and communities that shape them.
At its core, design is problem-solving. Rambie Lim, community livelihood development and product enhancement consultant, as well as member of Habi, The Philippine Textile Council, noted that a designer is, first and foremost, a problem solver, responding to their environment’s needs. Paulo Mercado, president of Ogilvy Consulting Asia, expanded on this idea, highlighting the debate over whether everyone can be a designer. “We are all designers in a way,” he said, referencing the Filipino trait of diskarte—the ability to creatively and resourcefully navigate challenges. However, Mercado made an important distinction: while we all have the capacity to solve problems, good design is a skill that needs to be honed. Not everyone achieves design excellence, which requires intentionality, empathy, and foresight. Natasha Mañosa-Tanjutco, co-founder and Creative Director of TAYO reinforced this, adding that “we can’t just be creating things that look pretty,” there must be a clear rationale behind the design, grounding it in purpose.
Another critical aspect of design is its relationship with empathy. Mercado shared the MMDA PWD ramp fiasco as a clear example of what happens when design lacks user-centered thinking. “You have to think of the user and test it by the user,” he said. In this sense, good design isn’t just about solving problems; it’s about designing with empathy, ensuring inclusivity, accessibility, and a deep understanding of who the design is for.
Embracing islandness
The Philippines, an archipelago with one of the longest coastlines in the world, has a unique relationship with islandness—a term that Tanjutco and Alvina connected deeply to the nature of Philippine design. Islandness is not just a geographical reality but a philosophy that shapes how Filipinos relate to their environment. Tanjutco reflected on the historical disconnect caused by colonialism, which pulled Filipinos away from our traditional maritime roots. “We used to design with the water in mind,” she emphasized, advocating for a return to maritime consciousness, where water is seen not as a division but as a connection.
Alvina went further, pointing out that islandness acknowledges our diversity and interconnectedness. “We are related but also diverse,” she said, urging us to examine how our various islands and their communities adapt to the challenges of globalization and climate change. This adaptability, she argued, is one of the core strengths of our design culture. Islandness is about being fluid and resilient, much like water itself.
Tanjutco also touched on the idea of biomimicry, where the design adapts based on survival in nature. For her, design is tied to survival and thriving in an environment as dynamic as the Philippines, where island communities face climate crises and other environmental challenges head-on. This return to indigenous knowledge and practices, such as how reefs in Halian Island protect against storms, highlights how traditional wisdom holds the key to modern solutions. “We need to remember what colonialism erased,” she said, calling for a conscious effort to reclaim and integrate tropical knowledge into contemporary design. Tanjutco also told the audience the value of listening and trusting the communities outside our cities in their capacities to solve issues or problems specific to their context. “We need to remove this savior complex that often comes with being learned or educated; we don’t have all the answers,” Tanjutco shares. “What we can do is support and enhance the skillsets and tools available to these communities so they can bolster and futureproof the solutions they may already have.”
Mercado, in his work for the Design Center of the Philippines crafting a National Design Policy, proposed establishing a center of excellence for tropical design in The Philippines in the same vein as the International Rice Research Institute, where local and international designers can collaborate on solutions that align with our archipelagic identity. This would turn islandness into an incubator for innovation, grounded in sustainability and resilience.
The state of Philippine design in 2024, and beyond
In 2024, Philippine design stands at a crossroads. Design strategist for DAPAT Studio and panel moderator Karina Abola noted that design in the Philippines has always been complex, an intricate web of influences, practices, and challenges. Yet, this year has seen a notable shift toward rediscovery and reclamation, particularly among the younger generation, who are increasingly reconnecting with Filipino cultural identity and history. “The youth are leaning into our culture and identity,” Lim adds, noting that designers today are starting to embrace the nuances of our archipelagic culture.
But with this rediscovery comes new challenges. Lim pointed out that one of the biggest problems in Philippine design is materials: “We don’t know how to process, use, and produce,” she said. This lack of access to sustainable, locally sourced materials is a barrier that Philippine designers must confront to thrive in a global market. On the flip side, openness to collaboration and innovation is helping to bridge this gap. The Benilde Open grant on Tausug weaving with Philippine silk is one example of how designers are experimenting and pushing boundaries, and gaining the support needed to innovate tradition. “This is a year of opening possibilities in design,” she adds.
But with this ambition comes the recognition of vital challenges. Alvina emphasizes that one of the key issues facing Philippine design is the need for foundational sensibility and skill. “More of our designers need to know what to think and how to think before they even design,” she remarked. This foundational knowledge is essential as the industry seeks to tackle pressing global issues like climate change and social inequality. Mercado echoes this sentiment, advocating for empathy as the guiding principle of design, where the concept of kapwa, or neighborliness, lays a crucial role. “When we are empathetic, our works become considerate of others,” he explained.
Mercado also advocates for designating more Creative Cities (Baguio being the first Philippine city with the UNESCO Creative City designation), recognizing their unique qualities and amenities that make them attractive to creatives. This approach can help build a vibrant ecosystem where innovation flourishes.
Tanjutco pointed out, this focus on climate and culture is crucial: “Culture is a climate solution.” The indigenous knowledge that has been suppressed or forgotten holds vital answers to the environmental crises we face today. The task for Philippine designers, then, is not only to create new solutions but also to remember and reclaim what we already knew before colonialism disrupted our connection to the land and sea.
Looking ahead to 2025, the challenge remains: how to broaden possibilities and reconnect with meaning and theory, as Abola put it. As Philippine design moves forward, it must continue to balance modern innovation with ancestral wisdom, ensuring that the solutions we create are not only sustainable but also rooted in who we are as an archipelago. The double-edged nature of Filipino resilience—a trait that has allowed us to survive adversity but sometimes at the cost of long-term thinking—must be reexamined. We need to move from merely surviving to truly thriving, as people, as designers and as Filipinos. •
Visit Design Week Philippines’ events page for details on how to sign up and participate in the different activities! Note that some workshops and experiences are free, while a few charge corresponding fees, with proceeds dedicated to local communities and charities.
Kanto is a proud media partner of Design Week Philippines
