Third World Snack

Magpi-pillow ka na nga lang, yung manipis pa?

Thin Pillows
Oishi
2012

Oishi Philippines came out recently with a new variant of Pillows. The original heftier Pillows had very working-class Pinoy flavors: choco, cheese and ube. Alam na ang market. Parang dirty ice cream lang na de-kariton.

Pero iba ang branding nitong Thin Pillows. Choco-hazelnut–taray, parang Nutella lang. Thin wafers with oats–wow, healthy lifestyle. Kulang na lang yoga instructor. At sun-filled studio with hardwood floors and bay windows. Sosyal. Ang yaman. At in fairness, masarap naman.

Skin Deep

Racy, racist or classist?

Bela Padilla cover
The Bikini Issue, March 2012
FHM Philippines
Summit Media
2012

In view of the Bela Padilla FHM cover controversy, one thing is supremely obvious: ang galing ng marketing ng Summit Media. Surely something this big and this obvious was no mere accident. This had to be done on purpose. “For the record,” admits FHM Philippines on its Facebook page, “we were never able to print any copy that had the original cover. We pulled the cover image before it hit the printing press.” In short, tons of publicity at no extra cost, not a single print issue wasted. Not that the Philippines’ top-selling magazine title needed any more help, but props to the publisher for its excellent marketing sense. But let’s not dwell on that.

The outrage over the “racist” cover reeks of 1., a selective eye on issues, and 2., an enchantment with the politically correct. As if saying, “sure, you’re a vulgar magazine, but you can’t be THAT vulgar!” Where do we draw the line, and how?

Moneymaking

New regime, new currency. New direction? We'll see.

“New Generation” Philippine Banknotes
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Studio 5 Designs, Inc. and Design Systemat
2010

As far as state representations go, no other piece of visual culture is as ubiquitous yet precious—literally or symbolically—than our money. How many of us have toiled in unfulfilling careers, aspired to marry above our social class, been separated from family, fought, gone to war, even killed in the name of satisfying the very common desire to accumulate vast amounts of these vivid engravings? As much as they are intricate works of design, in a capitalist society like ours, these colorful slips of paper also make the world go ‘round.

Ninoy, the Straw Man

With the dearth of credible presidential aspirants, should we just elect the imaginary alternative?

Ninoy For President 2010 shirts
Oh-We’re-So-Filipino
2010

Ninoy Aquino has become a graphic design sensation of sorts. Along with the nostalgia for all things yellow, spurred by the death of Cory Aquino, we are now inundated with a barrage of Ninoy-themed merchandise. His iconic monotone image is now plastered on shirts, bags, car plates, and whatnot. This retro wave can be attributed largely to the much-publicized iamninoy campaign, which mobilizes a strong band of artists and retailers like Team Manila, Analog Soul, Bench and Penshoppe.

Recently, a group of graphic designers going by the (strangely patriotic-conyotic-almost-sarcastic) name of Oh-We’re-So-Filipino (OWSF), unveiled a very curious instance of this Ninoy-ism: the Ninoy for 2010 t-shirts. In an article about the shirts, the group describes the brand of “fun patriotism” that they wish to put forward in light of the upcoming elections:

Sequestering the Visible

A copyright infringement? Garcia's Obama photo for AP (left) and Fairey's Hope poster (right).

The Associated Press, in calling out graphic designer Shepard Fairey for appropriating an AP image in his famous Obama posters, puts itself in a strange position, since agencies like the AP thrive precisely on appropriation, whether in syndicating reports, or, as their extensive image bank shows, appropriating what is photographable—ergo, what can be seen.

“To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed,” says writer Susan Sontag. “It means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge—and, therefore, like power.” Should people like Obama sue photographers like Mannie Garcia and agencies like the AP for appropriating his likeness? (Can Obama even lay claim to his likeness in the first place?) In turn, should artists like Fairey raise a howl when photographers and news agencies publish photographs of their artwork in various media? Should artists be obliged to secure permission whenever they use a found image as reference? The Fairey v. AP case raises a multitude of questions on art, photography, design, reproducibility—and inevitably, politics and power.