Designing change

Last weekend, I was invited to the alumni assembly of USC’s College of Architecture and Fine Arts (CAFA), and I sure don’t regret having made time to attend the gathering. Both the architecture and fine arts departments gave presentations on exciting improvements and adjustments made to the curricula of various programs being offered by the college, as well as long-term plans to ensure that graduates are not only globally competitive in terms of skill and experience, but are also responsive to the (social) needs of our time (in “uplifting the human spirit, preserving the environment, and addressing social issues”).

 It was inspiring to see CAFA make an effort to reach out, not only to its graduates, but to the rest of the community (e.g. Fine Arts Department chair Brenda Seno shared a project students had with Dalaguete town where they helped market the town’s food industry). When I was still a student of Advertising (the Fine Arts Department’s ‘flagship’ course), institutional ad campaigns for thesis/school projects were rare and felt like these were frowned upon as uncool by some students and even some members of the faculty (save for a few who were ahead of their time).

 We were often taught to “think out of the box”and out of that attractive, modern box called the USC CAFA building is the community at large in dire need of some color, creativity, and imagination to make it come alive.

 Ironically coming from an artistic familySpanish forbears who formed the Orquesta de Lopez; a paternal grandmother who studied in the conservatory for music; cousins and uncles who are known visual and graphic artists; a father who is recognized by many as the first ‘real’ DJ in Cebu, and one who can’t seem to put down his guitarI was never very good in putting my ideas into fruition, hence the decision to take up Fine Arts majoring in Advertising. I have long since been a proponent of ‘designing for development,’ the very reason why I felt I needed an education that supported both my need and desire to realize the ideas I had for what I’ve always been passionate for: political communications.

 I labored to apply the theories I learned in class to my campus political party, TINGOG Carolinian, as a form of OJT when our college prospectus then didn’t require any. In my case, it proved to be a lethal combination of principle and practice, one that propelled me into the industry and life I’ve always dreamed of having, separate and distinct to that of my family’s and its enterprise.

 Social marketing, political communications, and sustainable design are industries often overlooked by creative professionals. But these industries, apart from being lucrative, are alive and very much needed, especially in our country where inciting hope is not as important as sustaining it.

 The other day, I posted a photo on Steve Jobs’s 10 Commandments on my Facebook account. I said:

 “Someone like Steve Jobs (Apple’s erstwhile CEO) should lead countries like the US and the Philippines.”

 “Leadership in the 21st century is characterized by creativity, by a brand of leadership that isn’t only concerned in delivering a creative message that brings in the votes (or in the surveys, keeps one afloat), rather a leadership that is poised to deliver creative solutions to address the most complex, multi-layered and multifarious problems brought about by the complications and effects of rapid globalization, regional integration, volatile markets susceptible to speculation, and government programs/policies that offer no sustainable answers, just so-called band-aid ‘solutions.’”

 So the only way to sustain hope is for people to see and feel the change. It most certainly doesn’t stop with a riveting poster that says “Change we can believe in.”

 Suffice it to say, designing change is about the tangibles and intangibles; it’s about advocating, inspiring, rousing, moving; it’s about structures and systems that are efficient, beautiful and pleasing to the senses, more importantly, those that effectively respond to needs of people. It’s about green infrastructure that is true to culture and perpetuates heritage while saving water and conserving energy. It’s about posters, murals, fashion, TVCs, movies and TV shows that provoke, change habits, ask questions, shift mindsets, save lives.

 Again, it’s all about the tangibles and intangibles that creative people create with their creations.

 What’s exciting is CAFA has made it official located in a creative city called Cebu (an ASEAN City of Culture)it’ s a workshop, a workshop for designing change. Here’s hoping more students and alumni pitch in to making this world a better place. Sketch pads and pencils up! After all, the development process is a creative process.

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 Tonight on The Bottomline with Boy Abunda: TV commercial and film director Paul Soriano expounds on his work ethic and his compulsion for ‘perfection,’ both essential elements to his own creative process. He also bares his thoughts and feelings on his relationship with actress- TV host Toni Gonzaga and other members of her family.

 Watch it after Banana Split on ABS-CBN. Encore telecast on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), Sunday, 1:00 pm.

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