If you’re a graphic designer in the Philippines and I mention the line, “The leading Graphic Design Firm in the Philippines,” what do you say?

(Chances are) Team Manila.

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I don’t know how these guys got famous, but they did. In fact, they’re the ones who started the whole t-shirt design craze and the tightly letterspaced, stacked Helvetica (or another similar grotesque sans serif font) trend they used in their logo. Pushing their brand further, they’ve also established their own retail store, Team Manila Lifestyle.

Clearly, these guys deserve to be where they are as they wouldn’t be at the top of their game if not for their skills and effort; but I don’t like the way they’re shaping the industry.

Because Team Manila is the industry leader, they have the power to influence the mass population about what graphic design really is. When they talk, people listen. And when I said “people,” I wasn’t just referring to graphic designers, but to the rest of the Philippines who are confused about and misunderstand what design really is.

What really brought me to write against Team Manila was this article I read from Pinoy Tech Buzz entitled, “A Message from the Future,” which talks about the 1st Manila Design week spearheaded by Team Manila.

The article is opened with the line, “Undisputedly, this country is home to a lot of talented artists.” Then, a few paragraphs later, Team Manila is quoted with, “We want to provide a forum for Pinoy artists where they can show their talents, and likewise, who want to go from local to international recognition.” Going further into the paragraph, the post talks about T-shirt design competitions and how great Filipino artists are.

You got that right—Filipino artists.

The problem here lies in the fact that artists and designers are being used interchangeably when the truth is, Filipino artists aren’t necessarily graphic designers (and vice-versa.) While art focuses on expression, emotion and aesthetics; design focuses on solving problems and communicating messages.

What I strongly disagree with is how the field of design is being dumbed-down to a totally different form so that the people can digest it and art/design firms like Team Manila can benefit from it. Team Manila is becoming the Willie Revillame of graphic design—feeding the masses with false information and instant gratification because it’s what they want, not necessarily what they need to know and understand.

Since the goal of Team Manila is to bring graphic design into the mainstream, they also have to scale it down to a level the mainstream can understand. Because design is a field the mainstream wouldn’t be able to understand without actually studying it, they interchangeably use it with a simple concept like art so they can get a larger share of the market. Obviously, t-shirt design contests, which have more to do with art than design, are much easier to sell than x-heights, em dashes, modular grids and production methods.

The reason I’m reacting this much is that these days are part of a formative and transitional period in Philippine Design. With design tools becoming more easily accessible to the average Juan, design is slowly creeping into the mainstream. While this is happening, people (and a lot of artists) are attempting to gather more and more information about design. Students who want to grow in design will look for a local father figure. Unfortunately, if that figure is controlled by the likes of Team Manila who have the realistic capacity to shape people’s minds and perpetuate that design is all about expression and art, then Philippine Design will be doomed.

What Team Manila is doing is not wrong in itself as both artists and designers have a place in the creative Philippine ecosystem; but passing t-shirt design contests and “Freedom of Expression” as part of the First Manila Design Week is. Such a move is feeding people with false information and making it difficult for designers to explain to the moms, dads and non-designers of the world what design really is.

If this post reaches any of you Team Manila guys out there, kindly rename your event to the First Manila Artwork Week. Please?

For more examples of how graphic design is being misrepresented as art, see Adobo Magazine’s and Tim Yap’s post regarding the 1st Manila Design Week.

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I posted a second article, “More Comments on Team Manila,” if you want to read more.