Design as influence

THE PANDEMIC led to a blossoming of creativity, and it was during the time of lockdowns that a major new law was passed supporting the creative industries. These developments were just some of the items discussed in a round-table during Design Week Philippines.

Design Week Philippines featured a series of talks by the Design Center of the Philippines (DCP) that ran from Oct. 14 to 22.

In a talk streamed online titled “The State of Philippine Design,” School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA) co-founder Amina Aranaz-Alunan, architect Royal Pineda of Royal Pineda +, Abi Mapua, social designer and Country Manager of Ashoka Philippines, and DCP Executive Director Maria Rita Matute shared their thoughts at a roundtable discussion moderated by architect Joseph Javier. The video was shot at the First United Building in Escolta, Manila, which was itself the site of many talks during the week, as well as the home of Hub: Make Lab, a partner of DCP for Design Week.

Ms. Alunan remarked upon the passing of Republic Act No. 11904 (An act providing for the development and promotion of the Philippine creative industries, and appropriating funds therefore) in July 2021. “For the first time, it’s like the creative industries are being recognized, and it’s legitimizing us,” she said. “We’ve all been seen as hobbyists, and people just having fun. But now, it’s really expanding the industry as well.”

Ms. Mapua commented on the pandemic releasing creativity. “I think the pandemic really produced creativity. [Yet] the pandemic has been problematic in almost all aspects of life,” she said, acknowledging how people started creating brands, products, and even content. On the flipside, that also led to misinformation and polarizing content. For Ms. Matute, a change seen in the landscape is the openness in discussing circular design and economy. “Once you talk about it in the public space, there are so many people that come up and want to support it,” she said.

For many people, design is just a way to make things more beautiful. According to the speakers, that’s not quite always the case. Ms. Alunan says, “Design in transformative. Design is influence. You see how with the pieces that you create, somehow, you are influencing others in a subtle way. You are also slowly prompting them, maybe nudging them towards making certain decisions, also assisting them in finding also their own truth.”

Ms. Mapua, working as she does with a non-profit that specializes in guiding social entrepreneurs said, “Problem-solving is really about design. Each person has the agency to shape present and future,” she said. Quoting Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Idiot (“Beauty will save the world”), she said, “In the Philippines, it seems like beauty is something that’s not accessible. I realize that a pathway towards creating what is beautiful could actually be design.”

“I don’t think it’’ elusive. I think beauty is very subjective. Everyone could have access to it. It’s a very personal thing. This could be beautiful to me and not to you. The point is, design could get us there.”

Mr. Pineda said, “Design for me is actually sharing a philosophy. It’s sharing a dream. It’s also, for me, the road map to the modern Philippines. I believe that the Filipinos can all live in luxury, by design.”

“I believe that there should be a culture that all of us creatives should also create; not just to inherit these bad cultures that are ingrained already.” — JLG