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TE Lecture Series | Language, Identity & Typography in the Philippines with Jo Malinis & Jad Maza — Transcript

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0:00Welcome everyone. Thank you all for
0:01joining us today. We're Type Electives.
0:03We're an online design school shaping
0:04the future of type and design and
0:07co-founded by Lynn Yun and myself, Juan
0:09Villanueva. We offer classes that go
0:11beyond traditional type design education
0:14and our classes explore type design,
0:16lettering, and creative technology. And
0:18we work with faculty who bring respect,
0:20responsibility, criticality, and love
0:22into their practice and we love working
0:24with students who share the same values.
0:27Today we are on the fourth out of five
0:30in our lecture series where we invite
0:31new and established voices to share
0:33their stories, knowledges,
0:34and ideas with the community. This
0:36season we're exploring the importance of
0:38language support, their creative design,
0:40and language revitalization in the
0:41context of typeface design.
0:43These are some of the amazing people who
0:45have already spoken. Joann Jad will be
0:47speaking today and we have Leo coming in
0:50next week. So whether you're a designer,
0:52academic, or just curious about
0:54typography and the intersection between
0:55language and community and culture,
0:57these talks are meant to give you a
0:59little bit of the inside into the
1:00conversations that are happening right
1:01now along those topics.
1:04So here you can see everything at a
1:05glance. The first one has already been
1:08uploaded to to YouTube and that the the
1:11next two are are in the process of being
1:13uploaded
1:14and this one will also be online right
1:16after. So you can check next week. So I
1:19can encourage you to like support us and
1:22engage with us in the Q&A and also in
1:24the chat.
1:26Before we dive in, here are a few ways
1:28you can support us. You can donate
1:30scholarship funds, subscribe to our new
1:32letter newsletter for updates on classes
1:34and events, follow us on social media
1:36and YouTube. And if anything, you help
1:38us by spreading the word about our
1:40classes, events, and mission to your
1:41friends and colleagues. Every little bit
1:43of support help us, you know, keep
1:45programs like this running and help help
1:48us keep design education accessible. So
1:50with that out of the way, I want to pass
1:52the mic along to to Lynn who will
1:54introduce our speakers for today.
1:57>> Yes, we super excited for our special
2:00guest today, Joe and Jad.
2:02Um I have the honor of introducing them.
2:05Both are super awesome. Joe is a type
2:08and graphic designer from the
2:10Philippines. She earned a post-graduate
2:12certificate from Type West in 2022 and
2:15has taught design at the University of
2:17the Philippines Diliman, as well as
2:20assisted workshops at Type Elective. You
2:22know, this where you're listening to
2:24this workshop, you know, this like uh
2:25webinar in Oh my gosh, can't talk. Um
2:28Joe is currently the library curator at
2:29Type Network and Joe also founded Type
2:3263, a platform celebrating Filipino type
2:35design and typography, and is a
2:37co-founder of Type Fair PH, an in-person
2:40gathering and celebration of Filipino
2:42type and talent.
2:44And of course, we have Jad. Uh Jad is a
2:48Filipino designer hailing from Iloilo. I
2:50hope I pronounced that right. Iloilo,
2:53Philippines. Uh sparked by a passion
2:56project, his type design practice
2:57focuses on developing fonts for both
2:59Latin and Baybayin. Um I also hope I
3:03pronounce these ones okay there, too. Uh
3:05scripts and explores what
3:08um what more type design can look like
3:11in the Philippines context. Uh Joe and
3:13Jad, please join us on the virtual stage
3:15to chat about language, identity, and
3:17typography in the Philippines. And for
3:19those of you in the chat, uh please uh
3:21if you have any questions, make sure to
3:23put in the chat or the Q&A function and
3:25we'll try to get to it at the end of
3:27their talk. All right, please take it
3:29away from us.
3:31>> Thank you, Lynn. Hello, hello everyone.
3:34Um I'm just sharing my screen.
3:38All right, I hope it's sharing properly.
3:41>> Yeah, it looks great.
3:42>> Okay. Hi everyone. Um good evening or um
3:45good morning
3:47um from our side of the world. I'm very,
3:49very surprised that there are Filipinos
3:51in the chat because it's 1:00 a.m. for
3:53us. But it's all right, guys. I'm going
3:55to take a lot. Oh my god.
3:57Thank you so much. Um and of course,
3:59thank you to Type Electives for having
4:00us in this series of talks. It's very
4:02nice to be here. Um again, we are Jo
4:04Malinis and Jad Mati. And we are type
4:07and graphic designers from the
4:08Philippines. So, we have been friends
4:10and collaborators for a while now, but
4:12we actually only met during the pandemic
4:15when Jad joined an internship program
4:16that in the design studio that I was a
4:19part of during that time.
4:21Um and we actually didn't talk about it
4:24at all, but we were both surprised to
4:26see each other
4:28um at our post-grad type design program
4:30at TypeWesth last 2022, where we
4:32actually also had Wan and Lin as our
4:36instructors. Um nice full circle moment,
4:39guys. So happy to be here.
4:41Um and during that program, that was
4:43actually where our friendship started to
4:44grow
4:46um forged by the common struggle of
4:48waking up at 4:00 and 5:00 in the
4:50morning to attend our classes. It was
4:52great to go through the program not only
4:54with a person who is sharing the same
4:56time zone as you, but also sharing the
4:58same language. So, we would talk a lot
5:00um during the discussions in our
5:03lectures and also outside of it um and
5:06we started to form a connection through
5:07that.
5:08Um
5:10in time, we've also started working on
5:12more and more projects together and
5:14we've become collaborators. And we've
5:17done custom type projects as a team. Um
5:20and of course, we also do a lot of
5:22different things for Type63. And this is
5:26one of the things that we've been doing.
5:27We have been trying to get into more
5:29conversations about languages, scripts,
5:31about Filipino typefaces in general. And
5:33today, we will be talking about exactly
5:35that.
5:36Which is language, identity, and
5:37typography in the Philippines. And we
5:40also just want to preface this with the
5:42fact that we've done our best to
5:43research and fact-check the information
5:46that we are going to share. But with
5:48that said, we also do not claim to have
5:50all of the answers about this topic,
5:53especially on topics that go very much
5:55deeper into linguistics or Philippine
5:56history. And if something sparks your
5:59curiosity, or if you spot something that
6:01we could learn more about, we'd really
6:02love to open up a conversation about
6:04this even after this talk.
6:06Um
6:07and we don't want this to be like the
6:08final word on anything. So with that
6:10said, we can jump right into it.
6:13So the Philippines is an archipelago
6:15made up of 7,641
6:17islands. It is divided into three major
6:20island groups, which we call Luzon,
6:23Visayas, and Mindanao.
6:25So these are further broken down into 18
6:27administrative regions, and these
6:29regions contain 182 ethnolinguistic
6:32groups,
6:33which have over 170 to 185 languages.
6:38So eight of those languages are called
6:40major languages,
6:42um and these are Ilocano, Pangasinan,
6:45Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bikolano, Cebuano,
6:50Hiligaynon, and Waray-Samarnon.
6:53And even with all of this, in 1935, a
6:56national language was established by
6:58former President Manuel L. Quezon
7:00through a committee of linguists under
7:03the idea that it could maybe unite the
7:05whole country. So the committee
7:07recommended Tagalog to be the basis of
7:09the national language. Tagalog was then
7:12taught in school only as one of the
7:14subject areas, but it was not adapted as
7:17the medium of instruction.
7:19And so as you can imagine, with so many
7:21spoken languages in the country, this
7:23has been questioned through time. And in
7:25the 1987 constitution, Tagalog was
7:28actually replaced with Filipino, which
7:31is a fusion of the different native
7:33languages.
7:34So you can imagine how multilingualism
7:37is very, very common in Philippine
7:39households. And to give you some
7:41personal examples, this is how it looks
7:43like for Jed and I.
7:45Jed's father is from Antique,
7:48and he speaks Kinaray-a.
7:50Jed's mother is from Davao and speaks
7:52Bisaya.
7:54They are now based in Iloilo, which is
7:56why Jed's first language is Hiligaynon.
7:58He can read and write in Latin.
8:02My dad grew up in between Manila and
8:05Cavite and speaks Filipino. While my mom
8:07came from Bicol and speaks Bicolano.
8:10They met and settled in Manila, which is
8:12the capital of the Philippines, and
8:13which is why my first language is a mix
8:15of Tagalog and English, which we call
8:18Taglish. I can also only read and write
8:20in Latin.
8:22With so many languages in the country,
8:24and with Filipino as a national
8:26language, how did English come into the
8:29picture?
8:30So, let me just do a quick roll call of
8:32Philippines Philippine colonizers.
8:36The first one was Spain,
8:38and um they colonized us for 333
8:42years from 1565 to 1898.
8:45They then bought the Philippines.
8:47Um they sold the Philippines for $20
8:51million
8:52through the Treaty of Paris to the USA,
8:54who is our second colonizer, who
8:57colonized us for 48 years from 1896 to
9:011946.
9:03And then there's a third one who is
9:04technically not a colonizer, but um
9:07Japan occupied us for 3 years, and there
9:10was an overlap with the USA from 1942 to
9:131945.
9:16We're not going to dive deep into those
9:19anymore because I'm not going to be
9:21staying here until Christmas, but it's
9:23important in this talk to know that
9:25before the Americans oh so generously
9:28transitioned us to our independence in
9:301946, the whole educational system of
9:33the Philippines was actually taught in
9:35English.
9:37So, even with the national language in
9:38place, it was still being taught
9:40secondary to English.
9:43Our math and science subjects are not
9:44taught in Filipino. In school, you are
9:46encouraged to speak English, and
9:48sometimes you are even punished for not
9:50doing so. This is what a lot of us and a
9:53lot of our parents grew up with.
9:55When my mom, who speaks Bicolano, moved
9:57to Manila, it was easier for her to
9:59converse in English since that was her
10:02second language, and Tagalog was only
10:04her third.
10:05That was normal for her, and it became
10:07normal for me, too.
10:09You grow up accepting that norm as a
10:12fact. You rarely stop to ask where it
10:14came from or what it replaced.
10:17Artist Carl Artist and designer Carl
10:19Castro says, "When we study typography,
10:22we can't just look at what's there, but
10:23also what's lost. Historically, what was
10:26erased?"
10:28There is a song by Yoyoy Villame
10:30released not so long ago in 1972 that
10:33goes, "Oh my god, I'm going to sing it."
10:37On March 16, 1521,
10:40the Philippines was discovered by
10:42Magellan.
10:45Crazy song, right?
10:47History, as we've been taught it,
10:49usually begins with Magellan's arrival
10:52in 1521. But that framing already tells
10:55us something. It assumes that the story
10:57began when the Europeans arrived, that
11:00our history started with them.
11:03And how could it not when history was
11:05established through writings, where
11:07Filipinos were framed as uncivilized for
11:09not carrying that same practice of
11:11memory?
11:12Carl Castro also says, "In societies
11:15that have printing, there is that notion
11:17of knowledge as something that you store
11:19in a book, and you can leave untouched
11:21and just come back to it.
11:23But for us, we already had rich systems
11:26of recording, remembering, and
11:28transmitting knowledge long before
11:30colonization. Our oral history was
11:32integrated into everyday life, and it
11:35was usually a revered community
11:37activity.
11:38In Iloilo, on the left image, there is
11:41the binukot. These are well-kept maidens
11:44that would spend days memorizing the
11:46epics or literature in general, so that
11:48they could pass on this information to
11:50the community.
11:51When we were talking about this, Jad
11:53described them as the hard drive of the
11:55pre-colonial era.
11:58In the north,
11:59the Hudhud chants of the Ifugao were
12:01practiced during the rice sowing season.
12:04At harvest time and even during funeral
12:06wakes. The chant tells about our
12:09ancestral heroes, customary law,
12:11religious beliefs, and traditional
12:13practices, and reflects the importance
12:15of rice cultivation.
12:17These things were things you had to
12:19store in your head and use regularly,
12:22and there was a practice of passing it
12:23on from generation to generation, which
12:26was more difficult and sophisticated.
12:31The historian Zeus Salazar said, The
12:34language carries culture, it carries a
12:36way of thinking.
12:37Which means language carries culture, it
12:40carries a way of thinking.
12:42And if language carries culture, then
12:45scripts are the visual form of that
12:47culture. They make thought visible.
12:50Before colonization, many communities in
12:53the Philippines had their own writing
12:54systems, collectively called suyat.
12:57The most known one is baybayin. It was
13:00used to write Tagalog and other regional
13:02languages.
13:03In Mindoro, there was hanunoo and buhid.
13:07In Palawan, there is tagbanwa, and in
13:10Pampanga, kulitan.
13:12And when you go down south, surat and
13:15suwat bisaya is what is used in Visayas.
13:18Each region had its own visual logic,
13:22usually dictated by the tool and
13:23material used to create them.
13:26These are usually knife
13:27or carvings on bamboo, palm leaves, or
13:30wood.
13:31So, these scripts were not merely
13:33systems of writing. They were extensions
13:35of community life. They were used to
13:37write letters, poetry, songs, and
13:40prayers. They were used to mark
13:42ownership, seal agreements, or record
13:44deaths.
13:46I want to show you this image.
13:49This is the Laguna Copper Plate
13:51Inscription. It is the earliest known
13:53calendar-dated document in the
13:55Philippines, a legal record inscribed on
13:57a thin copper plate in March or April
14:00822.
14:02It shows the relationship between
14:04ancient kingdoms in the Philippines,
14:06where it describes the payment of debts
14:08between kingdoms such as Tondo,
14:10Paila, Binwangan, and Puliran.
14:14As Spanish missionaries introduced
14:16printing presses and Latin letters, our
14:18indigenous scripts were gradually
14:20replaced.
14:21Not because they stopped working, but
14:23because they no longer served new
14:25systems of power, which were religion,
14:27governments, governance, and education.
14:30Over time, native scripts faded from
14:32daily use. Some survived today, but
14:35since very few can still read or write
14:38them, they're often treated as an
14:40ornament rather than language.
14:42This loss marked a shift in worldview
14:45from something embodied and communal to
14:47something standardized and controlled.
14:50So, when we talk about language and
14:51typography today, we're also talking
14:53about the visual and cultural aftermath
14:56of that erasure and what it means to
14:58reclaim it.
15:01In the context of type design, we know
15:03people who are studying and publishing
15:04typefaces that include this script these
15:07scripts. We have a lot of Baybayin
15:09designers in the Philippines. There's
15:11Jad, there's Aaron Amar, there's Lloyd
15:14Zapanta, John Mesa Elvena Nueva, Lucius
15:17Felimus, and so many others.
15:19And I know, I think he is here in this
15:21talk, but I know Lloyd Zapanta has
15:23started researching on Surat or Suwat
15:26Bisaya.
15:27And I also know that Kulitan is being
15:29researched by Glenda Belarosa for the
15:32Unicode Consortium and Julie Say for her
15:34own research.
15:36Plus, I'm sure there's a lot more people
15:37who are doing research on our scripts
15:40and I'm sure I've yet to meet them.
15:42At Type63, we try to question things and
15:45fill in the gaps where we can.
15:47In the past, we proposed the idea of a
15:49Filipino character set.
15:51And just a few months ago, we held a
15:53Baybayin font creation workshop, both
15:55led by Jed. And with that, I'll actually
15:58hand it over to him.
16:01>> So, hello everyone. I'm Jed. And my type
16:05design journey began after attending a
16:07talk titled Patriotism Through Digital
16:10Art in 2019 by Aaron Amar.
16:13One of the country's main modes of
16:15transportation,
16:17the jeepneys, have these vibrant side
16:19texts that kept catching his eye. But,
16:21there weren't equivalent type faces to
16:23represent these beautiful specimens
16:25digitally.
16:26So, he made fonts inspired by those
16:28letter forms and distributed them for
16:30free.
16:31As a layout artist of our campus paper
16:33back then, I was already a heavyweight
16:36font user, but I didn't have the concept
16:39of type design yet.
16:40Doors were opened after that talk and I
16:43was equipped to try to make my own font.
16:46While tinkering with letter forms in the
16:49font creation software,
16:52I was reminded of a publication we have
16:54made set in our mother tongue Hiligaynon
16:57that was using accent marks to
16:59differentiate specific sounds in words.
17:02While tones and their equivalent
17:03diacritics are still being touched on in
17:06Filipino language classes at school,
17:09they are now arbitrary and rarely used
17:11every day. And was an interesting topic
17:14that grounded my type faces story.
17:17Then the
17:18Okay.
17:19Locked at home, I read a post suggesting
17:21how we can spend this ample time
17:23exploring and pursuing our passion
17:25projects. It was also a time where the
17:27question kept getting thrown around. I
17:30know I'm a bug move, or what can you
17:32contribute to your country?
17:34I assume working on my font as a passion
17:36project, eventually releasing it as a
17:38celebration of the diversity of
17:40Philippine languages, and as my
17:42contribution to the local graphic design
17:44community.
17:46I kept exploring Filipino themes in my
17:48succeeding works with intention, and the
17:51cultural appreciation in my practice
17:53naturally progressed to learning and
17:55designing for one of our native scripts,
17:57Baybayin.
17:58I was influenced by the work of my
18:00colleagues, Aaron Amar and Lloyd
18:02Zapanta, who have already been designing
18:04Baybayin technology.
18:07My first encounter with Philippine
18:08scripts is from a trivia post online.
18:12In school, we may have touched on
18:14evidence of the native writing systems
18:16like the Laguna Copper Plate man
18:19mentioned by Joe before, but we never
18:21really discussed these scripts in depth,
18:23their structure and conventions, and how
18:26they are read and written because
18:28because those topics aren't officially
18:30part of the school curriculum.
18:32The earliest surviving specimen of
18:34Baybayin is the Doctrina Christiana
18:37produced by Spanish priests. It is also
18:39considered the first printed book in the
18:41Philippines, set in Spanish,
18:44transliterated the Tagalog and Baybayin
18:46texts in their effort to spread
18:48Christianity across the archipelago. In
18:51the course of the colonization, the
18:53Baybayin ultimately fell out of use.
18:57As Filipinos tried to fight back against
18:59the Spaniards, Baybayin briefly returned
19:02and was proudly drawn, stamped, and
19:05embroidered as part of revolutionary
19:07insignia and secret communications of
19:10the Katipunan.
19:11Fast forward to when country was under
19:14the Marcos dictatorship, the regime's
19:16propaganda embraced traditional Baybayin
19:19motifs and Baybayin-like flourishes in
19:21Latin letter forms to project a facade
19:24of opulence, sophistication, and power,
19:27all while orchestrating one of the
19:29largest acts of plunder in the nation's
19:32history.
19:33This oversimplified rundown of
19:35Baybayin's occurrences in Philippine
19:37history tells us about how its revival
19:39can stem from starkly different
19:41motivations, whether for exploitation or
19:44for revolution, but it always points us
19:47back to our heritage.
19:49One time recently, someone posted on
19:51social media about an imagined redesign
19:53of a train station in Metro Manila
19:56featuring a tiny subtitle
19:57transliteration transliterating the
20:00station name in Baybayin.
20:03While others were praising their
20:04creative exercise amid frustration of
20:07badly designed national facilities, a
20:09number of people were solely focused on
20:11the inclusion of Baybayin text and its
20:14lack of functionality in today's
20:15context.
20:17Colloquial discussions around Baybayin
20:19can be divisive.
20:20Despite this, why is it important to
20:23design typefaces for native scripts?
20:26Even though there are opposing sides to
20:28the story, it will not erase the fact
20:30that these scripts are our very own, a
20:32part of our history and identity as
20:34Filipinos. As type designers, developing
20:38Baybayin fonts is a way of preserving
20:40and reclaiming that piece of our
20:41identity.
20:43The challenge working with pre-colonial
20:45scripts that have gone out of use and
20:48isn't officially part of a of the
20:50educational system is that resources for
20:53it are scattered and sparse,
20:56sometimes vague, and can even be
20:58contradicting. The Baybayin Unicode
21:00documents have been very helpful for me
21:03in cataloging online resources for
21:05studying the evolution and status of the
21:07writing system.
21:09For further inspiration, I would go
21:11visit museums to observe tidbits of
21:13physical Baybayin specimens we have
21:15left. Maybe documents or engravings in
21:18artifacts and art.
21:21It's tough to figure out sometimes, but
21:24its scarcity also leaves room for
21:26exploration and interpretation of the
21:28script.
21:30Why do I keep getting inspired by
21:32Filipino themes in my work? This
21:34recently released book about Baybayin
21:36that uses my first font, Maragsâ, is my
21:39body of work coming full circle. It
21:42encouraged me to see how people can feel
21:44represented through the fonts they use.
21:47Our nation is so rich historically,
21:49culturally, and linguistically, and
21:52there are just so many things to get
21:53inspired and frustrated by that can be
21:56channeled through creativity.
21:58And type design can be one avenue to
22:01express one's love for the country.
22:05>> And I agree with Jed 100%. Our
22:07conflicted history of colonialism has
22:10unfortunately taken away our traditions
22:12and writing systems, which leaves our
22:14small type community with more questions
22:17than answers about the identity of our
22:19work.
22:20I used to say that the small comfort we
22:22get in this situation is that we have
22:24the chance to shape Filipino type
22:27identity together.
22:28And while I still believe that to be
22:30true, I think it's equally important to
22:32ground that on the understanding of the
22:34remains of our typographic past and
22:36reconcile them with the work that we're
22:38doing today.
22:39It's tough. It's frustrating. A lot of
22:42times it feels like an uphill climb, but
22:44it's also very, very exciting. And it's
22:46nice to know that we're not alone in it.
22:48So, thank you so much Type Electives for
22:50giving us this platform to talk about
22:52it. And thank you everyone for coming to
22:53join and listen.
22:56Thank you. Maraming salamat.
22:58>> Salamat.
23:03>> Thank you all so much.
23:03>> Amazing.
23:06>> Uh yes, I'm going to ask people to put
23:08their questions in the chat or in the
23:09Q&A. Uh we already got some via
23:11Instagram.
23:12Yes, Arlene, go ahead.
23:14>> Oh, no. I was just about to say the
23:16same. Like thank you so much. Like
23:17that's like I I learned so much. I'm
23:20sure everybody did, too. And it's also
23:22really nice seeing the over our, you
23:23know, overarching picture cuz it's like
23:25often, you know, as as a type designer
23:27myself, like I often like hear like, you
23:29know, like slivers of projects um that
23:32are like very like um
23:36hype
23:37hype-driven and not so much like have a
23:39chance to see like the really big
23:41picture, like the historical picture,
23:42because at the end of the day, like
23:44we're in a very specific time in
23:46history, and there's like so much uh
23:48beyond like, you know, the moment that
23:49we're in, like beyond like our one
23:51generation. So, this is amazing. Um
23:53thank you so much for sharing.
23:55Perhaps uh Juan, maybe you can get
23:57started on the questions cuz I think
23:59we're going to have a lot of questions,
24:00perhaps. What do you think?
24:02>> Uh one of the questions I have, I think
24:04it's the same as the one that someone
24:05said via Instagram. Um especially what
24:08how everything resonates and even
24:10personally as to how the historical
24:12association has affected your writing
24:13language and your scripts and all that.
24:16Um so, one of the questions I had, and
24:18it's again, it's the same, uh what would
24:19the future of typography in the
24:20Philippines kind of like look like?
24:23Um that's a big question, but what what
24:25is your What do you think your vision
24:26for that could be? And if there will be
24:29any more workshops uh on Baybayin or
24:31maybe other scripts that you're aware
24:32of?
24:34>> Maybe you can answer first, Jed.
24:37>> Yeah, so what would be the future of
24:40typography in the Philippines?
24:42Um in the near future,
24:45I guess it's my personal imagining of
24:48what it could be. It's um
24:52the awareness of our
24:54our of our native scripts would be more
24:56widespread um than it is right now. So,
25:00um
25:01I imagine it to be or I dream for it to
25:04be
25:05more appreciated rather than side-eyed,
25:08for example. And um
25:11I want us to uh be able to
25:14just uh immerse ourselves in these
25:18beautiful majestic scripts that um our
25:21country has. And uh with the
25:24type workshops just like the recently
25:25concluded by Vine workshop. So, yes. So,
25:28that was our dry run. So, if we have
25:31time in the future, we could definitely
25:33um like run it again. But, yes.
25:36Uh it's uh more
25:38I guess uh
25:40uh availability-wise.
25:43>> Yeah.
25:44Yeah, well,
25:45you know, in type 63, it's like
25:47I feel like it looks like such a big
25:49community. It is to some extent. Um but,
25:52it's actually a community of friendship.
25:55Like, we're all friends. You all know
25:56each other. Um even the ones in
25:58different parts of the world, the
26:00Filipinos who are contributing to the
26:01larger discussion of Filipino type and
26:04Filipino language and Filipino scripts.
26:06We all kind of know each other. Um and I
26:09would say that it's still quite a small
26:11community. Um
26:13and it's still kind of
26:16in this sort of bubble that we are in.
26:19Um we only
26:21usually we mostly talk about type, about
26:23lettering, about calligraphy. And I feel
26:25like it's time that we kind of branch
26:26out and reach out to like other people
26:28who are also passionate about, you know,
26:31Philippine scripts, maybe our linguists
26:33or researchers or anthropologists. We
26:35haven't really
26:36at least me, when I say we, it's mostly
26:38me. Um and some of my friends or maybe
26:41Jed, um we haven't really gone out yet
26:43and reached out to people outside of the
26:46of the type world to help us out and um
26:49further the effort of promoting our
26:53beautiful written scripts.
26:55And like Filipino typography in general,
26:57the future of it, it's really a scary
26:58question to be asked. I always get asked
27:00this in conversations and honestly, I
27:02don't know.
27:04I don't know how it will look like, um
27:07especially living in a country
27:08like the Philippines, you never know
27:09what's coming up next. Um
27:12but I would say it's fun, it's exciting,
27:14and it's it's interesting to go through
27:16that uncertainty with such a huge
27:19supportive community behind you. Um so
27:23maybe we can all answer that question
27:25together in the coming years.
27:29>> Yeah, so stay engaged, folks, and if
27:31there's workshops that you want, you
27:33have to clamor for it, you know, um
27:36yeah. So, support I think always matters
27:38a lot when it comes to community and
27:40community-driven projects, and um
27:42you know, like I think like it's very
27:44important even as like people who are
27:46just starting out or someone who's just
27:47curious to just like say that you are
27:49excited about something. So, you know,
27:51amazing people like Joe and Jad and, you
27:53know, everyone in the community can be
27:54like empowered to be like, "Oh, people
27:56want this to happen." And I think that
27:57in itself is like such a beautiful way
27:59to contribute. So, again,
28:02putting that out there.
28:04Yeah, and our next question is um
28:06perhaps like a big one for uh for folks
28:08who are just starting out, for Filipinos
28:11who are beginners in type design, what
28:12could be a good road map to follow? Or
28:15like do you have any advice, you know,
28:17for people who are getting started? I
28:18know you must get asked this a lot.
28:21But, you know.
28:23>> And I always say that there's
28:24there's really no road map for it.
28:28Um
28:29but there are a lot of different
28:31resources that you can tap into and
28:32access, and I'm not saying this because
28:34I'm literally here in this conversation,
28:36but you know, Type Electives is one of
28:37them. Um if you want to get into
28:40um understanding more about type, about
28:43languages, about all these different
28:45things connected to type design, this is
28:46such a good avenue to begin with begin
28:49in. Um and you know, I I I always just
28:53say reach out to anyone from if you're a
28:56Filipino, reach out to anyone in the
28:58type 63 community and I don't just mean
29:00the type 63 Instagram account. But like
29:03people who are
29:05who who you've seen being featured there
29:07or people who are talking on Discord or
29:10people you just see interacting online.
29:12Reach out to them. Everyone is very
29:14nice. Genuinely.
29:16Everyone's a yapper. When you start
29:19talking to someone, they won't shut up
29:21in the best way possible. Um and
29:23everyone's willing to reach out. But in
29:25terms of like setting a road map for
29:27yourself, I feel like that's such a
29:28tricky question coming from a country
29:30that doesn't have type education or
29:33doesn't really
29:35put a premium on design education in
29:37general. So it's kind of frustrating to
29:39be in that situation where you're not
29:41like sure where to go. Um and that's why
29:43I kind of want to encourage people to
29:46just, you know, reach out to the people
29:47you know have been doing the things that
29:49you wanted to do. And ask them how they
29:52got there and they will tell you
29:53different stories and you can just pick
29:55your own road map from there.
29:59>> I also agree with what Joe said about
30:02like the lack of uh putting premium to
30:06type design. Like
30:07um typography is kind of like the least
30:10of everyone's concern uh living in a
30:13third world country.
30:15And um it's uh uh and I acknowledge the
30:20privilege of like having
30:22uh having the opportunity to be able to
30:25uh like study this uh
30:28uh and uh
30:29immerse myself in this uh
30:32in this
30:34industry. And uh well, for me it's not
30:37even full-time right now and um
30:41I just uh
30:42uh
30:44acknowledge that all these, uh,
30:46different opportunities uh, also came
30:49from because I was really passionate
30:52when I met Type School. So, I guess it's
30:55more of like, uh, follow where your
30:58passion leads you and, uh, I guess
31:01that's, uh,
31:02a great word, uh,
31:04road map to start with.
31:09Yes.
31:11>> Oh my god, you you're giving us so much.
31:12Thank you. Thank you, Joe and Jad. Uh,
31:14100% with everything. It's it's really
31:17hard, as you mentioned, for a for
31:18someone in a third world country to get
31:19started in a field that is not as as
31:22recognized, perhaps, where even design
31:23itself is trying to claim its own place.
31:26Uh,
31:26>> Yes.
31:27>> That said, there now now more than ever,
31:29the community online, it's it's very
31:31global and very connected. It's such a
31:33small world that if someone does want to
31:35get involved in type, you know, barriers
31:37like software, money, and time, but if
31:40you have a little bit of that and can
31:41make some space for yourself, um, you
31:43know, people do donate like educational
31:46licenses that are free online programs
31:48like, uh, Type Design School that you
31:50and you,
31:51uh, thankfully put together online. We
31:53also have schools like Type Electives
31:55and other educational options that are
31:57also offer scholarships, uh, and places
31:59for folks to learn. Um, the limits also
32:02may be the time an issue cuz I remember
32:03when you joined the class, you were so
32:05early in your time.
32:06>> Yeah.
32:07>> But again, you know, it's like hopefully
32:09that's not going to be the future
32:10forever, right? Being able to offer
32:12classes for you guys in your language or
32:15in your time zone is super important.
32:17So, folks that are interested, please do
32:19reach out, you know, get in touch with
32:20Jad, Joe, or the Type School community.
32:23And if people want it, someone will make
32:26it, especially when there's a lot of
32:27demand and motivation.
32:30We have a lot of questions now. A lot of
32:32questions in the Q&A.
32:34Uh, so, which is going to the next one?
32:37Um, there's a lot of So, the next one is
32:39how is Oh, interesting. How is How is
32:42this reported by the government? Well,
32:45but yeah, I'm I'm not sure I get the
32:46context of these questions. Uh
32:49So, I'm sorry.
32:50>> I think the question is like is
32:53um
32:54is like you know, typeface design and
32:57typography in general like supported by
32:59the government at all? Like you know,
33:01the Ministry of Education culture? Like
33:03is there money for that or what's your
33:06what's your take?
33:08>> No, there isn't anything.
33:13What are the priorities?
33:13>> The money's in their pockets.
33:17>> Yes, honestly, you know, um we've been I
33:20don't know if you've seen it in the news
33:22that they've been going through these um
33:25cycles of frustration and anger with
33:28what's happening in the country when it
33:30comes to corruption.
33:31Um and you do realize there is money,
33:35but it's not going through the right
33:36avenues and right channels. In terms of
33:38education, I
33:41I'm not confident enough to confirm
33:43this, but I do think there isn't
33:46any
33:47or there isn't a lot of budget that goes
33:49to
33:50um design or the arts.
33:52Um and especially in type design,
33:54especially for something that is so
33:56niche, so new,
33:58um that is only being recognized
34:00recently through the different efforts
34:02that I've been trying to push it
34:03forward.
34:05So, that
34:06The short answer is there isn't any
34:07support coming from the government, but
34:10hopefully we get to a point that there
34:11is. Um I'm sure there are grants here
34:14and there from different like nonprofits
34:17or like um smaller government
34:19organization. And there's always like
34:20the Design Center of the Philippines who
34:23helps out um with all of these um
34:25efforts, but in terms of like budget,
34:29no.
34:30There's nothing.
34:34>> Yes, so Type 63, for example, is just
34:37a pure work of love by April Joy.
34:42So
34:43>> It's hard to recognize these things.
34:45>> Yeah, so if you can donate
34:48you can donate to
34:51>> I just want to say that yes, it is a
34:53labor of love. It started like as that
34:56and it still is.
34:57But there are so many people who are
34:59supporting it. Again, like for example,
35:01we've been doing type walks around
35:03Makati
35:05the past few
35:06months. Last year until this year.
35:09There's another one happening soon.
35:11And some of the proceeds from the
35:12registration of that activity
35:15actually go to Type 63 without me even
35:17asking for it. These people are just
35:20willing to support and there's all
35:22there's so many other
35:24people who have reached out. Maybe not
35:25monetary support but they always ask if
35:28there's anything that they can do to
35:29help. And I feel like that's
35:32so much more valuable than just getting
35:34money from someone who doesn't really
35:36care about the practice that you're
35:38doing.
35:41>> Thank you. I'll we'll try to go through
35:43these questions cuz there's a lot of
35:45these.
35:46But okay, the next one is how can
35:49someone like me who is Filipino and
35:51American
35:53more into my cultures through design?
35:55Any advice as I go through this journey?
36:00>> You want to go first, Jed?
36:02>> Um
36:04where is it again? Okay, so
36:06>> Oh, it's in the chat.
36:08>> Oh, it's in the chat.
36:11Okay, so it's more
36:13our personal work is more of like uh
36:17doing personal research as well. So it's
36:22uh a lot of these different things
36:25getting connected with the community.
36:27have the
36:28Type 60 T community.
36:33Which is collating all these Filipino
36:37type design talent. So, it's
36:40find
36:42that community or reach out Type 60
36:44would be a nice way to start. And also
36:48like connect to your culture by
36:51doing those
36:53research. So, you could like
36:57When I when I'm personally studying by
36:59buying for example, I would go through
37:01this rabbit holes like
37:03whole afternoons of like searching for
37:06whatever there is to search. So, it's
37:09like that ongoing process of um
37:14like
37:14curiosity with your
37:17culture. So, keep that
37:19alive in you and you'll finally get
37:23your answers or maybe left with more
37:26questions. But yes,
37:28that curiosity will lead you to like
37:31find your
37:34more of your culture and identity.
37:37>> Yeah, I I think I agree with that. It's
37:40really about tapping into your interests
37:43and seeing how that looks like in the
37:45context of the Philippine of Filipino
37:48culture. So, if you're into fashion, if
37:50you're into type,
37:52understand what you like and what you're
37:54interested in and it's going to be so
37:55much more easier to get
37:58to go through that rabbit hole because
38:00you know, you just want to be in that
38:01rabbit hole and never go out of it.
38:03And the fun thing about being online,
38:06the internet and being maybe on
38:08Instagram is that there's so many niche
38:10accounts for all of these things. So,
38:13for example, I mean the one is us, Type
38:1663. There's another if you're like into
38:19um
38:20What do you call this? What if you're
38:21into let's say
38:24um
38:25archival
38:27not archival. Um if you're into like
38:29Philippines packaging, there's an
38:31account called Sashi Archives who does
38:34who documents all of these things. And
38:36then there's um 90s Kabakla An which is
38:39like gay ephemera and um
38:42um stuff about Philippine culture um and
38:45different old posters. And there are so
38:47many different things that you can go
38:48through. It's just understanding what
38:50you're into first and then getting into
38:52it and promise it you're it's going to
38:54take up so much of your time once you
38:56get into it.
39:02>> Thank you for that answer. Um the next
39:04question that we have here it's also
39:07kind of like related to
39:08practicing designers both in the
39:09Philippines and the diaspora. So the
39:12question is uh it's for both of you.
39:14Have you noticed any difference in
39:15approach to type design for Filipinos in
39:18the diaspora versus Filipinos in the
39:20Philippines? Um in reference to
39:22something you mentioned about Baybayin
39:25currently being used as a more as an
39:26ornament or being viewed as an ornament.
39:30>> Yes, so for this example
39:33like
39:35Filipino Americans were
39:38like at the forefront I guess of
39:41like
39:42doing research as they connect to their
39:44roots. So for example uh figures like
39:47Christian Cabuay or
39:49um Norman De Los Santos are uh based in
39:52the US and uh they're are the ones who
39:54have uh been promoting actively
39:57promoting like the use of Baybayin and
40:00um
40:01in their communities. So yes, uh
40:04uh I guess uh
40:06that
40:08uh motivation of Filipino Americans to
40:11reconnect with their roots and is uh
40:15that's what drives them to
40:17um
40:18design more and promote this more and to
40:22uh
40:23reconnect with their identity. And
40:26versus in uh Filipinos that
40:29here it's more of like um
40:32also like that
40:34but in a more
40:36I guess in a more uh battlefield
40:39scenario where
40:40the men I've mentioned before the uh
40:44example where there are opposing uh
40:46sides to the story where
40:49um
40:50Filipinos themselves are
40:53uh
40:54are adamant or
40:57have like adverse reactions of using
40:59Baybayin uh in the modern context. So,
41:03there
41:04there are um
41:06uh
41:07they don't like to use Baybayin
41:10um in like uh the modern context because
41:13no one understands it. No one It's not
41:15part of the educational system. It's
41:18practically useless. So, um that's uh
41:22that's like the challenge uh for us uh
41:27here also
41:28um is uh that it's not an encouraging
41:33uh the most en-
41:35ging like area to be doing this, but
41:40yes, it's mostly out of our personal
41:43um
41:44love also
41:46and uh interests. That's why we're uh
41:49doing this
41:51practice.
41:54>> And I um
41:56I don't I don't necessarily agree with
41:58the sentiment of a lot of people do not
42:02explore Baybayin further or not use it
42:05at all or whatever, but I do understand
42:07where they're coming from. Again,
42:09because it's really not being pushed um
42:13as a language anymore and that's
42:16and that's on the educational system.
42:19Um
42:20but it's it's really that and you know,
42:22when you grew up in a system that pushes
42:25you to consider
42:27something else, a different language as
42:29more um
42:32What's the word for it? As superior than
42:36your own. It's hard to get outside of
42:38that mentality. It's hard to question
42:41it. It's you know, when it's just
42:42drilled into you since childhood. Um
42:46it's it's it's it's it's hard to accept
42:48another thing or it's hard to like
42:50acknowledge that you know, we can
42:51actually do this and
42:54push forward and try to like understand
42:57our own roots, our own
42:59culture, our own identity. Um and in
43:02terms of like recognizing
43:05Sorry, what was that? I can't see the
43:06chat. But the first part of the question
43:08was like if I if we recognize
43:10differences in themes and like how
43:14>> approach to type design
43:16>> Yeah. Approach to type design by
43:19Filipinos here and Filipinos abroad. I
43:21honestly don't really
43:23see much of a difference, but that's
43:25also because there aren't a lot of
43:26people doing it in the first place.
43:30So you know, the sample size is kind of
43:31small.
43:33And I think
43:35and I think that's kind of a good thing
43:37that I don't really recognize a lot of
43:38difference between the two because it
43:40means that you know, on the same page in
43:42approaching Philippine type design and
43:44like
43:45understanding where we get our
43:47references from and what we're inspired
43:49by and I think I I see it as a good
43:51thing.
43:53>> Is there Is there a lot of like cross
43:58references or interaction with all the
44:01Filipinos in like worldwide? Like is
44:04there a lot of like interaction there?
44:06Cuz even when like
44:08I met
44:09uh Chuck Gonzales I think in New York
44:11and then like I went
44:13I know Filipino type designers and it
44:14was like
44:15and I mentioned you too and they were
44:16like oh yes of course I know them and I
44:18was like but like
44:19across the world and I'm like I was like
44:21maybe everyone knows knows these other
44:23or like knows of each other so like I
44:25wasn't sure if it's like there is a lot
44:27of dialogue and maybe that's why like
44:29you know
44:30aside from the small sample size maybe
44:32everyone's looking at each other's work
44:34is there anything like that going on?
44:36>> It is definitely that. It's kind of like
44:38you know when you see someone oh
44:41we call it like Pinoy ah kabayan which
44:44means they're from your nation. Kabayan
44:46means
44:48>> Yes.
44:48>> someone who is the same as you.
44:50>> Yeah.
44:51All Filipinos you know meet outside is
44:53like your relative.
44:56>> Yeah something like that like you're
44:57part of one big family and so when you
44:59see someone doing the same thing as you
45:01it's easy to like identify with them.
45:04Um I don't know about conversations
45:06about dialogues. Um we try to uh
45:09encourage that but I don't know if there
45:12are
45:13interactions happening. I'm sure there
45:14are um in smaller spaces but like as a
45:16general thing um there isn't a lot of
45:19opportunity to do it in person cuz
45:21literally we're at different places
45:23different parts of the world. Online we
45:25used to do it during the pandemic we
45:27tried to get people together but right
45:29now it's not really happening as much.
45:32But you know what type fair is happening
45:33this November
45:35and I'll use this
45:36as my opportunity to actually invite
45:38people
45:39to
45:40come and join us. We're hosting a type
45:42fair um on November 29th here in the
45:44Philippines. It's going to be fun.
45:46There's a lot of different speakers
45:47coming in to talk about type design in
45:49general and it's just a fun community
45:51event. So if you want to
45:53meet people and see your Instagram
45:56mutuals in the flesh this is a good
45:58opportunity to do so.
46:01>> Well sounds like it's your it's your
46:04you know, it manifested for you folks.
46:06You should all go.
46:14Um, our next question I think is in like
46:16a similar vein like from both of your
46:19personal points of views like how can we
46:21move forward in developing Filipino type
46:24and its community with
46:26with only you know, small amount of
46:28resources like available
46:33and it's a little bit unclear if it's
46:34related to the the pre-colonial scripts
46:37or like type in general
46:40but yeah, do you do you have any
46:41thoughts on that? How can we how can
46:44we move forward with developing Filipino
46:46type and community?
46:49>> I think it's moving forward with having
46:52Sorry Gel, I'll this will be short.
46:55Um, moving forward with
46:57more intention in putting more intention
47:00to the work that you're doing. I feel
47:02like I got into type just because I
47:05wanted to know how to do that.
47:08And until now that's kind of like
47:10my motive my motivation for it is the
47:12craft and understanding it better. But
47:15through time because of all of these
47:16conversations happening around you know,
47:19identity about what was lost and what is
47:22still what still remains.
47:25That's something that I kind of want to
47:26start thinking more about as I continue
47:29working on my projects and I feel like
47:30it starts with that. It starts with
47:32being more intentional in how you
47:33approach your work. If this is something
47:36that you want to represent your identity
47:38or your culture or who you are,
47:41then maybe add more intention to the
47:43things that you're creating and maybe
47:45try to manifest that and I don't think
47:47there's one way to do it. Um, I think
47:50there are so many different avenues that
47:51you can take to be able to do it. Um,
47:55and that should be exciting.
47:58>> Yes.
47:59So, super agree with uh Joel um in that
48:04regard of being intentional in studying
48:07type. But also, for example, in in
48:10Baybayin, where there are very very
48:12little resources like uh there really
48:16needs to be government intervention in
48:19terms of like adding it to the
48:20educational system for us to really um
48:24flourish with designing um this script.
48:27So, um
48:29to take it to the next level
48:32uh of its current status right now, it
48:34need the native script needs to need to
48:38be uh
48:40touched on in school, need to be um
48:43discussed
48:44or need to be studied uh so that uh
48:48everyone will not be
48:51um averse to using it because they have
48:54like knowledge and uh be will be able to
48:58like recognize these letter forms and
49:00identify it as their own. So,
49:03uh I guess that's uh
49:06that's something uh uh we will need from
49:12the government in terms of Baybayin and
49:15its resources. It will expand uh and we
49:19also need that like
49:22I guess a metrics or um
49:26I'm not sure of the word or like
49:28standardization of
49:31I'm not sure of if that's also a nice
49:33term, but yes, uh we need to study it
49:36more so that we know what
49:39actual letter form
49:41uh we can use and they're not
49:44contradicting. So, right now, there are
49:46a lot of like different versions of
49:48Baybayin. I've uh talked about it before
49:51in a previous talk and there are very
49:53different versions and everyone's
49:55exploring and that's why there there can
49:58be many explorations and many different
50:02versions that
50:03you can you can get confused of what to
50:06really study among these all different
50:09versions of Baybayin. So,
50:11that's also one thing to really know
50:14what to
50:15what the actual
50:18um format or convention of the the lang
50:23of the script is. But yes, but
50:26um it's up to
50:28them. But in our personal
50:30um
50:32in our personal capacity, yes, I really
50:35agree that we should uh do it with
50:37intention. There are a lot of um
50:40resources.
50:41Type 6000 was also born out of like that
50:44frustration of uh
50:46like looking for resources and uh
50:49studying type and looking for a
50:51community here in the Philippines. So,
50:53yes, that's uh
50:54really exciting space to uh
50:57see in the future.
51:02>> Awesome. Thank you, John, just for the
51:04in-depth answer. Um
51:05this next question is uh or we have a
51:08lot of questions in the Q&A. I don't
51:10think we'll have a chance to go through
51:11all of them, but I'm going to tie a
51:13couple of
51:14a couple of those in in together because
51:17they're very similar in relation to a
51:19script Baybayin. Um and again, you know,
51:22I know a lot of this is stuff that it's
51:24currently happening and and it has a lot
51:26to do with your your thinking is in
51:28terms of the future. Um so, this
51:30question uh is is the future of Filipino
51:33typography really just a revival of
51:35older scripts? And you can Yeah, you can
51:38you can think about that for a second as
51:39I I don't do the
51:41the other things. Um
51:43So, in terms of like do you think there
51:45should be typographic standards for that
51:47sense Um or can it can it can be binary
51:49by a thing a way that fits with with
51:52Latin should it fits fit with Latin that
51:55that's kind of questions what are your
51:58thoughts on on that in terms of like
52:00>> Sorry, what was the first one?
52:01>> The first one yeah is that that's the
52:02the umbrella question like is the future
52:04of Filipino typography really just a
52:06revival of older scripts?
52:08>> Okay.
52:08>> Or you know are there other ways I guess
52:10also.
52:11>> Right.
52:13I think I think Jed you can talk about
52:14this script part. Um I definitely have
52:17an answer for it of course not.
52:20It's not just a revival of all those
52:22things and if you want to learn more I
52:24had a talk with type collectives before
52:25about it as specifically. There's so
52:28many things from our culture that you
52:30can get from um in terms of like
52:32incorporating identity into the work
52:35that you do. Um and I don't want to go
52:37through it item by item but it's
52:39definitely not just a revival of the
52:41past. The point of understanding your
52:43past is knowing how to move forward. Um
52:46towards the future with more intention
52:48and knowing what was lost um if that's
52:50something that needs to be filled in as
52:52if it if that's a gap that needs to be
52:54filled in or if it's something that you
52:56can just say that okay this
52:59we can like put this there and then
53:01start on something else and maybe you
53:03know we in in this community that we're
53:05trying to build we have different roles
53:07in it. I don't design by and typefaces
53:10and that's not because
53:12like I have anything against it.
53:14It's just not my it's not where my
53:16interests lie. I do I love Baybayin I
53:19love our scripts and I love supporting
53:21the people that speak them. Um I haven't
53:24I I I don't see it working in my
53:26practice just yet but I do want to learn
53:28from it. So again it starts with what
53:30you're interested in and what you're
53:32connecting to and don't put on too much
53:34pressure for it to be anything bigger
53:36than what it's supposed to be. It just
53:38can be
53:39you exploring a concept and trying to
53:42inject it into the design that you're
53:43working on. That should be fine. Um
53:47but yeah, it's definitely not just
53:49a rehash of what was. Um
53:52but there is value in knowing what was
53:57and what how you can use it to create
53:59whatever it is that you want to do.
54:03>> Yes.
54:04So
54:05yes, super agree.
54:08Yes, in my in my point of view, it's
54:12more of the emphasis on the Philippine
54:15scripts because they're
54:17underrepresented.
54:19They are not There are not a lot of uh
54:23Baybayin fonts or other
54:27um
54:29native script fonts that you can use.
54:32So, it's
54:35up to the Philippines or the Filipinos
54:38uh to like make fonts for their scripts,
54:41right? So, um like
54:44that's why the emphasis goes there. But
54:48yes, I super agree that it's not the
54:50only thing that uh will
54:54be the future of Filipino typography.
54:56You could definitely inject all your
54:58experiences
55:00um living as a Filipino um in many
55:03different ways into typography and uh
55:06much more um
55:08functional ways that we could use today.
55:10For example, uh
55:12in Philippines, we all all use Latin
55:16um in our everyday. So, um there are um
55:20very different uh themes that are
55:23injected in um
55:25Latin letter forms in the Filipino
55:28context. For example, in our jeepney
55:30signages, uh those are um specifically
55:33Filipino and um
55:36the
55:37I guess the future of that would be
55:38trying to explore more of these
55:40different Filipino themes that
55:45we could inject into our everyday. So,
55:48um, that's what's also,
55:50um, I've been trying to
55:52do, not just with, uh, trying to, uh,
55:56support by buying, but also trying to
55:57inject those, uh, tidbits of our culture
56:01into the Latin letter forms that I am,
56:03um, designing. So, yes,
56:06we have a lot of islands very rich
56:08linguistically and very diverse. So,
56:10there's a lot of inspiration to
56:12to, uh, get from and, um, there's a lot
56:16of room
56:18to explore for Filipino type.
56:22>> On that note, I think there is also a
56:25great question. Um,
56:27like, uh, someone was saying in the chat
56:30that there are Filipinos who are already
56:31researching and designing our scripts,
56:33but everyone feels like scattered. Is
56:36there like an idea, um, or intention for
56:39type 63 to be like the heart of this
56:42movement?
56:44Maybe big question.
56:47>> I never wanted that position that
56:50that would be.
56:52Um,
56:53uh, but I mean, I don't know. I think
56:55that's such a, uh, difficult question to
56:58answer and I don't want to like drop
57:00anything that
57:02will raise expectations. But, you know,
57:04we're trying our best to
57:07to just be there and try to like answer
57:09and and just be present and
57:13help anyone who is interested in
57:15learning more about Filipino type or
57:17like understanding how to get into type
57:20design education, um, again coming from
57:23a country that doesn't really have a lot
57:25of resources on it. That that's the role
57:28that we are currently taking. Um,
57:32and I know I've said this before, but
57:33yeah, we we are trying to fill in the
57:35gaps. Like, for example, the Baybayin
57:37work- font design workshop was something
57:39that we thought would be nice to offer
57:42to people so that they can learn how to
57:44create their own Baybayin typefaces.
57:47But, like
57:49But, thinking about it is like the
57:53the the heart I don't know if I can call
57:55it the heart of like anything. I don't
57:57want to call it the heart of anything.
58:00It's just, you know, your friend that's
58:01there for you.
58:05>> Yes. So,
58:07there are actually many groups on
58:10Facebook that are more on the
58:14uh not type design, but more on like
58:16reviving the scripts. So, there are a
58:18lot of these Facebook groups. So, there
58:20are some Facebook groups who follow this
58:23this sort of
58:25uh version of the script, another is
58:28uh following this version. So,
58:31um that's that's the status of it right
58:33now. There's a lot of different um
58:36communities uh
58:38striving to um
58:40push for the revival of Baybayin, but
58:44I guess it's more
58:46um
58:48it's more of like
58:50the role of Type 6000 could always
58:53be like raising awareness that these uh
58:57scripts uh exist and
59:01trying to like tap into those interests,
59:04like uh tap into people who'd like to
59:06design for this. So, yes, that Baybayin
59:09workshop was
59:10uh
59:11really a great place to start for those
59:14who
59:15uh want to design their Baybayin fonts.
59:18So, I I think that was a great
59:20initiative and
59:22uh I think we're we're uh trying to do
59:25our best in uh promoting our
59:28uh scripts in
59:31those ways.
59:35>> Yeah, thank you so much. I don't want to
59:36be pressured to do anything.
59:40I don't want that
59:42responsibility.
59:44>> Well, that's why that's why everyone
59:45should should help you all out, you
59:47know, like if you if for for folks who
59:49are listening in or you know,
59:52or in the chat like you know, just know
59:53that like if you want things to happen
59:55you got to help them happen. Like you
59:56know, donate, volunteer,
59:59give people who enthusiasm, share on
1:00:02social media. I I think each and every
1:00:04one of those like really helps because
1:00:06you know, you can't put all that weight
1:00:08on one person.
1:00:10>> Yes.
1:00:11>> It's a community effort, right?
1:00:13Like it's like here you go, here Jed.
1:00:15Why aren't you doing it over here?
1:00:18It can't be like that.
1:00:20But yeah, but you know, I I really
1:00:23appreciate like both of you and just
1:00:25sharing such you know, like honest
1:00:28frank like answers and everything feels
1:00:30so heartfelt and to
1:00:33and to just like wrap up the webinar I
1:00:35wanted to like read out this comment
1:00:38from Danielle which
1:00:41was like that was amazing and really
1:00:42echoes how I'm feeling as well.
1:00:44Danielle said, I just wanted to say that
1:00:46I really appreciate the work that you
1:00:48guys are doing not on just a visual
1:00:51design level, but also on a decolonial
1:00:54and identity level.
1:00:55I'm a Filipino American graphic designer
1:00:58artist and I really resonate with what
1:01:00was said about how these processes
1:01:02involve a mentality of getting out of
1:01:05identity related superiority complexes.
1:01:08Thank you so much for sharing your
1:01:09knowledge and experiences with us.
1:01:12And you know,
1:01:14like I mean just just all just all the
1:01:17love for you two and I know that there's
1:01:19so much going on for for both of you.
1:01:23Is there anything you want to plug for
1:01:26you know for the audience like how to
1:01:28support you guys any new exciting things
1:01:30that you that is coming up besides you
1:01:32know type pH which all of you should go
1:01:34to if you can.
1:01:35Yeah, anything you want to plug anything
1:01:37you want to shout out there.
1:01:40>> Jad
1:01:43>> Jad has anything to plug.
1:01:45Okay, so I guess I'll visit type63.ph
1:01:50We have like been
1:01:53building that website where cataloging
1:01:57um
1:01:58different Filipino fonts and also
1:02:00collating different resources that you
1:02:04could use in your type design journey
1:02:07and trying to
1:02:09um
1:02:10uh build that community of like
1:02:14Filipino designers. So yes, thank you
1:02:17after job for like that initiative uh
1:02:20that you've
1:02:22worked on.
1:02:25>> Yes, so yeah type 63 please follow us if
1:02:29you want to learn more about type and
1:02:31the Filipino community. Follow both of
1:02:34our work if you're interested in knowing
1:02:36what we're up to
1:02:38and again yeah type fair Philippines is
1:02:40happening on November 29th if that's
1:02:42something that you want to check out and
1:02:43visit come if you just want to come
1:02:45visit the Philippines and hit us up. We
1:02:47are both now in Manila Jad is no
1:02:50in Iloilo.
1:02:52Yeah, we'd love to we'd love to have a
1:02:55conversation
1:02:56with anyone who would want to have a
1:02:58conversation with us. And I guess I kind
1:03:01of I kind of just want to end with
1:03:05um
1:03:07something that I learned from again Carl
1:03:09Castro who I've quoted in this
1:03:11presentation.
1:03:13I had an interview with him
1:03:15way back during the pandemic and we
1:03:17talked a lot about Filipino identity and
1:03:19type, and he studied film in college,
1:03:23and he said that revolutionary
1:03:26filmmaking is not the revolution itself.
1:03:28It's only the detonator or the pretext.
1:03:31And I find that in making type for
1:03:33pre-colonial scripts or like in making
1:03:35type Filipino type or type in general,
1:03:37it it takes on that similar role.
1:03:40It's it's not the end product, and I
1:03:42don't want anyone to feel like
1:03:45we it has to be the end product. It has
1:03:47to like
1:03:49scream or shout for something to happen,
1:03:51but it can be a catalyst for change. It
1:03:53can be something that, you know, people
1:03:56get inspired by. It can spark interest
1:03:59in learning more about Baybayin or
1:04:01Hanunoo or Buhid or whatever or it it it
1:04:05can be the start,
1:04:07and I hope that's something that can
1:04:08help
1:04:09inspire people to just keep making
1:04:12things
1:04:14that resonate with you and who you are.
1:04:16Not just with Filipinos, but with anyone
1:04:18else dealing with the same thing. I
1:04:20think that's applicable to everyone who
1:04:22is trying to understand their culture
1:04:24and how it applies to typefaces and type
1:04:27design.
1:04:34>> Wow, that's such a beautiful quote. I'm
1:04:36going to be thinking about that. Thank
1:04:37you so much for sharing that.
1:04:39And thank you as well.
1:04:42Again, please follow them. Please
1:04:43support their work. License their
1:04:45typefaces. Use them. Go and meet them in
1:04:47person if you can. I wish I could go to
1:04:49that that that fair, but I'll be
1:04:51following along on Instagram and social
1:04:53media and try to like, you know, repost,
1:04:54reshare, and yeah, support you as much
1:04:57as you can. You're both beautiful people
1:04:59both in in the way you think and the way
1:05:01you act. So,
1:05:03I'm really grateful to be in the same
1:05:05timeline with you all.
1:05:09>> Thanks, everyone. Happy to be here.
1:05:10>> Thank you all so much.
1:05:12>> Okay, salamat.
1:05:14>> Salamat.

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