“ We ’ re banding together ; be pioneers . Nobody ' s tried it before .”
tuloy-tuloy siya . ( If it works out , we might see this carrying out longer .) The idea is to do really big-scale projects .
May mga ibang sobrang laki ng scale — the problem is if we work on it , for example as Plus 63 , it demands more time . But with everyone , it ' s scalable . Together , we may also be able to pitch against multinational design agencies like the ones from Singapore , Japan or China . That ' s the goal . I ' ve worked with brand and design studios abroad , and I really think we can go against them . We just have to build the trust . There were instances wherein the client wasn ' t sure if we could do it , and we weren ' t either , but we just went and did . And we can have that confidence because we could rely on each other for support . We got each others ’ backs .
What is your reading of the local creative industry ? How is it different from five or ten years ago ? Where do you see it going in the next five to ten years ?
There are more designers now . There are more design schools . It ’ s good for the industry . More people practicing means promising yung design as a profession . Pero siyempre sa dami ng design school , mahirap din maghanap ng jobs . Konti lang din kasi design studios dito . But there are opportunities in games and animation .
The next five years would be significant . There ' s one group called the Creative Economy Council of the Philippines . We ’ re involved because of Communication Design Association of the Philippines . Yung estimate nung research is mawawala na yung BPO sa Pilipinas because of AI . Call centers and other skillbased BPOs . Sobrang dependent pa naman natin sa BPO pero sunset industry na siya . Made-deads na siya soon . Not in the far future but very near . The Creative Economy Council wants to give the creative economy a push — graphic design , animation , advertising , gaming , etc . based on the research , the least affected industries in the AI is the creative industry because you can ’ t AI creativity . You can automate layouts , basics and production , but the creative part of it , di siya maaapektuhan ng AI . If so , parang SKYNET na tayo ( Terminator ).
Our neighbors started long ago . We ' re late in the game ; we ' re pressed for time . It also means that there will be a lot of
development and action in the creative industry . Everyone is trying to organize . It ’ s one of the reasons we organized CDAP : to represent illustration design and graphic design and other industries . These fields , animation and gaming , malaki yung maco-contribute nila sa economy ng Philippines in the future . I ' ve never seen a branding studio become so big locally . Pero may possibility siya . Kailangan lang talaga paano mo iba-balance . In every country , may magagaling na designers , nasa studio naman talaga . But they ’ re never big contributors to the economy , the big contributors are the big design agencies . But sometimes , the big agencies are too commercial . The work of the design studios become the guide for the whole creative industry . Everyone should look to their work . if we ever have a big branding agency here , then okay siya , magiging malaki siyang industry . Exciting siya most definitely . Sobrang daming action .
You can ’ t not involve yourself in associations even if they ’ re exhausting . Mukhang walang choice , kailangan may magbuo at gumawa . ( It seems we have no choice ; someone has to organize these things .) Parang obligation to do it for the whole industry .
Move Philippines
“ We ’ re banding together ; be pioneers . Nobody ' s tried it before .”
Hydra Design Group is made up of Acid House , Inksurge , KM Interior Design and Plus63 . Follow their work on Instagram @ hydradesigngroup and heyhydra . com .
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