BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT In our country, we Filipinos are constantly exposed to mediocre, unimaginative design.

Our cityscape is dotted with identical glass boxes, ignorant of the climate and culture, just to appear modern. We can blame it on the pervasive colonial mentality of our people: foreign will always be better. Copying, or taking inspiration, from foreign design is widespread in the design professions in the Philippines, whether in architecture, fashion, graphic design or product design. The Philippines lacks a design identity. Unlike Japanese design or Scandinavian design, there is no way of telling that a design is Filipino. The Philippines, especially Cebu, is well known for manufacturing furniture, but what we provide is just the craftsmanship and not the design, which come from abroad. Despite the international fame of local designers like Kenneth Cobonpue (furniture) and Monique Lhuillier (fashion design), this does not translate into a brand or image for the country. Leandro Locsin, National Artist for Architecture, was also well known abroad and even designed the Istana Nurul Iman, official residence of the Sultan of Brunei. There is no denying Filipino talent, but there is a problem with how this talent is marketed. Our country has a long and rich handicraft tradition. Different communities and ethnic tribes are known for many kinds of products made painstakingly by hand (e.g. woven baskets, slippers, beading, and the like). Sadly, these industries are not being supported and are being overshadowed the onslaught of cheap foreign goods. Being a developing country, the Philippines does not put design at the top of its priorities. Poverty and hunger remain rampant, and the average Filipino is not able to afford welldesigned products. Many make do with what they could get with a cheap price. The current atmosphere in the design industry at the present can be likened to post-war Japan. Having just lost the war, Japan was forced to start at the bottom and develop a new identity that will boost the peoples morale. People started looking to the West for ideas, and counterfeiting was rampant. The Japanese government started to send young people to Western countries to get a design education, and come back to Japan to make better products and teach the new generation. Through constant innovation of foreign ideas, the Japanese were able to come up with their own design identity, one that is very modern technologically but still retains Japanese-ness. Due to the current economic situation, many of our young designers prefer to work abroad. This does not come as a surprise because there is more money to be made there. Thus, our country suffers from brain drain. Talented designers seek employment abroad and are compensated well, so many choose not to come back. There is also a diaspora of undergraduates, as well as graduates, seeking education abroad. The educational system in the Philippines, especially when it comes to design, is considered quite poor and not at par with our neighbors. !