“The authenticity of the
place [Escolta] and the
beautiful architecture are
things that’s hard to find
anywhere else in the city.”
Kudos to you and the young folks who have
contributed to bringing life and a promising future
to what was once the city’s busiest street. What
made you believe in the potential of Escolta?
The authenticity of the place and the beautiful
architecture are things that’s hard to find anywhere else in
the city. That, and the openness of the Syliantengs when
it came to new and creative approaches of reintroducing
Escolta to the new generation. These factors are what
made the community what it is right now.
How has the city and Escolta influenced your work
and approach to graphic design and branding?
With the endless visual inspirations around the city
and our love for abundance—or the aesthetic of it—gave
our practice more focus on what’s straightforward and
essential. The purity of what’s left in Manila reminds
us of what’s important and needed. Our exposure to
Japanese and Swiss designs helped us also in sifting
through the details that matter when it comes to visually
communicating the core of anything that we work on.
The Practicing Misis cookbook cover art
What’s a normal day in the office like?
We usually open the studio before lunch. Then we say
hi to our neighbors who have become very good friends—
especially the guys at one/zero design collective since they’re
just next door. Sometimes, we drop by the Kalsada Coffee
office at the fourth floor when they have new beans from
their farms or dark chocolates they might want to share, but
usually we grab our first cup at The Den. Then we proceed
to the usual work day that sometimes include entertaining
visitors who would like to check our studio or Standard
Objects—this little shop we set up inside the studio. Other
creatives and friends drop by every now and then to bounce
off new ideas for Escolta and other initiatives.
As of now, most of the work output we see from
the studio are Escolta-centric. What design works
and projects can we expect to see from the studio in
the future?
We haven’t had the time to put much of our work
out there but we’ve been consulting for various government
agencies like Intramuros Administration, Nayong Pilipino,
Department of Tourism, Department of Transportation,
MMDA, etc. Not much has changed since we started in
terms of focus, we still want to work with government agencies,
non-profit organizations and start-up companies.
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