This may be cheesy but my first memory of getting to know the Chinese culture was when I watched The Joy Luck Club in 1993. I was 13 then.

I was annoyed by Auntie Lindo but when I got older I realized that that story needed her. I was so affected by the couple who divided all their bills. How could he? Or how that mother drowned her own baby. Oh the drama!

Then of course there’s the real country which I visited a few years ago with my family. In this picture I am with my cousins Camille and Monica in Shanghai. I had some tourist shots of course but I was wearing a pair of white sunglasses that were just horrible. What was I thinking? Let’s not post that and stick to my Eminem look.

I was thinking of doing something dark and very In The Mood For Love but then I felt an intense red would be cliché. I wanted to tone it down but keep the metals.

First on the list is the Chinese Dragon of course. I didn’t want to streamline it, I wanted to keep all of the details, like a tattoo. See Franka Potente’s below.

There is an insane amount of detail involved in this and my printer probably hated me for it because they had the cliche (the metal plate used to emboss the paper) made from a far away place. I don’t know how far away exactly, but it took a while to arrive.

Pattern time. My favorite part. Do you know how they always have those swirly clouds behind the dragon in their pottery and paintings? I love that but it’s just a little too swirly for me. I just had to enclose it in something geometric. Let’s put some method into that mayhem.

I love this ironwork pattern in one of my favorite designers’ Massimo Vignelli’s office.

So, let me just put those together in the non-intense red that I wanted.

I knew from the start that I wanted the dragon just peeking into the paper like a mischievous yet chic version of Mushu.

Because I wanted this to be a more delicate set, I had it printed on bone-colored paper.

Finished product. Yang.

Second are the foo dogs. They really aren’t dogs, they’re lions and I don’t know how they evolved to being called dogs. If Snoop Dogg (now Snoop Lion) had a logo, it should be inspired by this. Then again, his transformation to being a Lion is because of the rasta culture so let’s scrap that idea.

They always come in this shade of blue, especially the young looking ones. They’re placed right in front of the main door to act as guardians. Female to the left and male to the right if you are facing the façade. The female is holding her cub (no she is not crushing its skull) and the male is holding the world in his paws.

The pattern is inspired by the latticework in Chinese interior design. Foo dogs = exterior. Lattice work = interior. I can’t say I didn’t plan that.

Detail shot.

Finished product.

The last design is this very visually distinct Chinese junk boat. It’s so symbolic of China because of its sails. I wonder if the design is inspired by the wings of the dragon.

I used copper as a metal because the Chinese junk doesn’t seem like a luxury symbol to me so it would look odd in gold or silver. I identify copper with function like how they are used for pots or electric wires.

I always see this striped concave pattern to represent water but I really don’t want to see that anymore so let me just inverse that. Here it is in a pale jade color.

Detail shot.

Here they are in action. Thank you notes for Vince Uy and Pauline Juan for the collaboration with Preview magazine and a birthday greeting for Daphne Oseña Paez.

The correspondence card is a very small medium and I wanted a lot of detail to go into this because it is experienced up close. It’s not a billboard or a building sign trying to sell you something. Its function is to be filled with brief, direct and personal details. A person’s handwriting, a message of gratitude or a birthday greeting.

I want to thank everyone who bought, blogged, Tweeted and Instagrammed about Angolphila. I appreciate it! I found that paper fans in this big city visit these stores: National Book Store Rockwell, National Book Store Shangri-La and PowerBooks Greenbelt 3. I have decided to focus on where the paper lovers are so you will find Dynasty only in these branches.

I have also opened an online shop because I’ve been getting messages from design enthusiasts from the provinces and abroad. I hear you folks! My store ships anywhere in the Philippines and, thanks to my freight partner UPS, all over the world!

shop.isabelgatuslao.com

Read the blog entry here.

You can buy this set online, just visit shop.isabelgatuslao.com

Or visit the following stores:

National Book Store
Powerplant Mall
Space #202 G, R2 Lifestyles, Rockwell Center
Lopez Drive, Barangay Poblacion
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 897 4346
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

National Book Store
Shangri-La Mall
Ground Level
EDSA, Mandaluyong
Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 633 4434
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

PowerBooks
2nd Level, Greenbelt 4, Greenbelt
Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St., Ayala Center
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 757 6428
Hours 10:00 to 22:00

Read the blog entry here.

You can buy this set online, just visit shop.isabelgatuslao.com

Or visit the following stores:

National Book Store
Powerplant Mall
Space #202 G, R2 Lifestyles, Rockwell Center
Lopez Drive, Barangay Poblacion
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 897 4346
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

National Book Store
Shangri-La Mall
Ground Level
EDSA, Mandaluyong
Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 633 4434
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

PowerBooks
2nd Level, Greenbelt 4, Greenbelt
Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St., Ayala Center
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 757 6428
Hours 10:00 to 22:00

Read the blog entry here.

You can buy this set online, just visit shop.isabelgatuslao.com

Or visit the following stores:

National Book Store
Powerplant Mall
Space #202 G, R2 Lifestyles, Rockwell Center
Lopez Drive, Barangay Poblacion
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 897 4346
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

National Book Store
Shangri-La Mall
Ground Level
EDSA, Mandaluyong
Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 633 4434
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

PowerBooks
2nd Level, Greenbelt 4, Greenbelt
Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St., Ayala Center
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 757 6428
Hours 10:00 to 22:00

This was the old logo.

Contrary to what you may think, I’m not a big fan of changing old things. I never thought the American Airlines logo needed changing. The Goldilocks logo either. I miss her face and her golden locks! I hope Philippine Airlines doesn’t change theirs. It’s perfect as it is. This time for Squires Bingham though, I vote yes! Not that my vote mattered. I was excited to do this logo because it was my first time to change something that’s over 100 years old. Oh the pressure.

The company was started by Englishmen who moved to the Philippines in 1905, the Edwardian Era. Downton Abbey fans, this was during season 1. It doesn’t get any more English than Squires Bingham. A squire is a knight in training and Bingham is a classic English last name.

Gutsy wanted something new, modern, contemporary! Roger that.

I always start with research. I read books on English heraldry just so I could let the brand simmer in my head. I have a sister who lives in London and she gave me this disc with 50 books on it. We fancy that. Thank you dear sister.

After way too much reading, I decided I wanted the knight on top of the shield to face front because that would be easier to apply. I can get a little crazy about symmetry sometimes. I also wanted to eliminate the shield completely. If Gutsy wants modern, we’ll give him modern. Besides, dropping the shield is alright because in their original logo, it just had the initials S & B in old English calligraphy and some stripes. Technically, shields shouldn’t even have text on them unless they are on the ribbon which is where the “war cry” should go. Let me shake off my heraldic jargon because I’m sounding like a know-it-all (not cool). Anyway, here are my sketches.

This is the knight helmet I came up with. Gave it a bit of a jaw line á la Heath Ledger circa A Knight’s Tale.

Well hello there handsome…

Just got this photo off a stock image site (sorry stranger). Wanted to see if the logo would look good on a wetsuit.

I kept the blue and added gold because I wanted it to pick it up a notch. I cannot imagine any sports store using gold. You know how they say that real men can wear pink? Well I’d like to say that real brands can be completely comfortable with gold.

I changed the typeface to this to make it feel that we kept its heritage at the same time make it easy to apply. Look at the tail on that Q. Hands down, the hottest Q ever.

You don’t always have to emphasise the initials of the brand, other letters have feelings too. In this logotype’s case, Q is the star! Enjoy the limelight, buddy.

When Gutsy emailed this to his dad who was coincidentally in London at that time, he didn’t like it.

*Falls off chair and cries like a baby*

He wanted the spears in there, a ribbon and the year the company was established. Ok, that’s not too bad. Shouldn’t be too hard to add but will it register well? There’s only one way to find out…

Now that WORKS! Everyone approved.

Well hello again handsome…

I’ll stop it, sorry. Life and its distractions.

Planning where to put the signage. Nina hard at work with paypay in hand.

Final interior signage at the reception area.

Detail shot.

Exterior signage.

Applied it on their stationery and packaging. I love that tissue paper with the sticker seal. Thanks Terry Uy for taking this photo.

On their paper bags. Even on a low ball for some whiskey time.

Forms are just as important.

I bought my Babolat tennis racquet here, it’s never too late to be the next Rafa Nadal. Clearly, I’m not in touch with reality but there is nothing to lose if one picks up a new sport, only the extra weight. A win-win situation. I keep my Isabel Nadal delusion and lose those extra pounds all at the same time.

If you are one of those firing range types or if you are into diving, underwater photography, golf, tennis, Neptunic shirts, Lifeproof iPhone cases, Luminox watches, pepper spray (ladies, you need this), etcetera… do visit the store! Here’s the info:

Unit G Ground Floor
The Sapphire Residences
2nd Avenue corner 31st Street
Crescent Park, West Bonifacio Global City
Taguig 1634
Phone +632 856 3322

Thank you Gutsy and Nina for making me a part of this project. Had a blast working on it!

I grew up reading Preview and when I was invited to be on their Creative It List in 2006, that pretty much made my 2006.

When I met with Vince and Eugene, they told me they wanted something different. Oh I know what they meant. Don’t you see a lot of this in fashion magazines?

Don’t get me wrong, I love this typeface but it’s just been used so many times, it can feel a little generic to the industry.

I wanted to put together a set of typefaces that reflected the culture of Preview. It’s very on trend, very eye candy and it’s the kind of magazine that’s closely connected to their readers. The street was my main inspiration. Graffiti, street art, directional signs. Visual cues that were informative and reflective of society.

I started by suggesting a typeface that’s inspired by stencil graffiti.

Yes Banksy – an artist whose work reflects our time. I suggested a stencil typeface for their section headers. Not a safe choice and this one is not easy to find unless you are a typomaniac like me (Let’s be friends?).

That’s the bold version. They also have a stunning book version. Look at those numeros!

And the sexiest italics. *Faints*

Did you see that upper case Q? Or the lower case z? As Rebel Wilson would say, beautimous!

For captions I suggested this typeface. It is the official street sign typeface of a lot of countries.

We use this in the Philippines too but Manila sees a lot more Helvetica of course. Sometimes they stretch Helvetica. I could really tear out those signs and throw them in the trash but then people might get into accidents and lives will be lost. It takes a lot of energy for me to tolerate this but it has taught me the art of supreme acceptance. Thanks MMDA Chairman for making me a stronger person.

Anyway, here it goes. Legibility at its finest. This font looks amazing at 8 points.

Vince also asked me to do something different for Preview. Something for their editorials so I decided to stylize the beautimous italic version of the display typeface I chose for them with lace. Lace because it transforms and it adapts to both high and low fashion. Lace? What did I get myself into? It’s like sewing on paper and Adobe Illustrator and I failed sewing class! But it is the brave choice and I’m so glad the Preview team agreed to it. I can only show you sketches of what’s already been shown on the magazine but I promise you all 26 of them are different from each other.

Here’s my sketch for the letter B.

I did not use a brush tool. Pen tool all the way even on the tiniest edges. And notice how the lace detail on the letter B’s bowl isn’t even.

Final letter B.

A McQueen-inspired F.

Vectorized.

This is a little more Dior.

Also went crazy on some of the details here.

My favorite in this issue: the W.

After hours and hours of work, I sent these files to Eugene and off they went with it. I’ve only seen it on the iPad because the issue just came out last night and I am so extremely happy about how they used all the fonts! Here are a few clips.

Oh Preview… I just love this magazine. Pauline Juan also mentioned me on her editor’s note. I am so kilig. Thank you!!!

Now off to check National Bookstore for the real thing. Please get a copy of the March issue. This is the beautiful cover styled by the Preview team.

Thank you Vince, Pauline, Eugene, Lyca and everyone at Preview!!! So ecstatic about this.

She said that she wanted her identity in black and gold. Perfect! And did I hear the word luxe? I think I did. There are also two sides of her: one works behind the scenes as a stylist and another in front of the camera… She is after all the new Plains & Prints ambassador among others.

So I worked on doing two letter Ls brought together by the letter U. Here are my sketches.

I decided to do something more ornate also. Luxe it is. I showed my sketches to my friend RAAB and he said they looked like Ormolus. Ok that’s a good thing. I was going for Biedermeier but that’s not quite luxe enough. I love how there is a mix of eastern and western in these Ormolu pieces.

I went with this logo and Liz had it Feng Shui’d. They said not to have anything pointed downward, the empty space in the U is a no no and somehow put the number eight in there for good luck.

Feng Shui on the logo. That’s just cool. I’d like to have a Feng Shui Manager in my future design team if the universe will allow it.

This is the approved logo. I curved the bottom loop, I put in a silhouette of the number 8 inside the U as well.

Now for type! Beautiful fonts but look at what’s wrong with this picture. Everything is straight except for that U.

They look uncomfortable don’t they? Well to me they do. I also wanted something very sleek to contrast the ornate icon. I chose this typeface because the letter U fits in with the rest of the group. A thin font too! Feels much better now.

I added an oriental border because Liz is Chinese. Keepin’ it real. Vince suggested we keep it as an option depending on the application so some things will have a border, some won’t.

I went to the printers to proceed. Metal cliche for stamping and embossing.

The machine printing the wrappers. Notice I also put in an oriental geometric graphic with the logo.

She wanted black paper for her thank you notes. First time a client has ever asked for that. What a dream. She’ll be using a gold pen to write on them. The envelopes are lined and I used a classic baronial format but with a pointed edge. Just stronger.

The memo pads are black too. Be still my beating heart.

Here are the wrappers. I ordered 100% polyester grosgrain ribbon for her from abroad too.

I also put her logo on the other side. It’s the Liz Uy gift wrapping paper.

Gift wrapped.

We are rolling out other interesting things next year as well. Thank you Liz for trusting me with this very personal project and making bold choices every step of the way! Thank you for the recommendation Vince!

Elle Decoration. Thank you Kissa and Becky.

Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Philippine Star. Thank you Chad.

Insituto Cervantes also invited me to write an article about my love affair with typography. Manila Bulletin published it. Thank you Isabel De Leon, Nic and Jose.

You can read the article online as well on the Manila Bulletin website. Just click here.

Read full article here.

Was that Hyatt ad special or what? I’m so glad to have worked there before. This brand trains you to hold back on anything loud. They’re not the kind of company who will put their logo on everything. They have this new rule that their logo shouldn’t be on their paper napkins and coasters. Agree completely. You’re already in the hotel, no need to oversell your brand through the logo right? Just give the customer a good experience.

Which ads do you like to watch on CNN? You can share them with me on Twitter.

Here are some images I got from the Graphicon Facebook page. I’m so excited to see my Cebuano friends Val & Chad. I’m also looking forward to the talks of the other guys who are so good at what they do to.

There’s also a video on their Facebook page. Do check it out.

Thank you Ray and DUAAD. See you soon Davao friends!

They brought in type specimens by Latin American typographers.

I talked about how I chose type for the identities I designed. These photos are from the Instituto Facebook page. Thank you.

I’ve never been to an event like this before. Could it have been my birthday and I just didn’t know it? Just fantastic that Instituto Cervantes would hold an event celebrating typography. Viva la type! (Or is it Viva le type?)

After the talk, they had graffiti artists from Spain create live art on the walls. They also invited everyone to join in.

Even this little girl!

Just wonderful. Thank you José and Nic from Instituto Cervantes for the invitation. And for those who attended, thank you for being just as enthusiastic about type as I am, let’s be friends, shall we?

Even if I had a rough start, I kept at it and never stopped designing my own stationery. And because I have been doing graphic design for a while now, my job allows me to see the best paper and work with the best offset printers. A few months ago I ran out because I’m a bit of an overboard thank you card giver. I leave a check for the supplier and I still have to send it out with a notecard. I issue receipts, also with a notecard. I probably use 20 cards a week.

I wanted my new stationery to be meaningful to me. Something that reflects what I’m obsessed with and recently it’s been everything British. I have been watching all the British period films and shows (Downton Abbey, An Idiot Abroad), listening to their music (Muse, Coldplay, this little band called The Beatles). I think they produce great graphic design and type too. J.K. Rowling is my hero. If you’re a creative person, you can’t help but admire this woman’s life. Using only words and her imagination, she has created a phenomenon and has inspired so many children to put down their gadgets and pick up a book. I love you JK. I have so many British heroes and I can go on and on about them so I decided to design my stationery using English culture as inspiration.

I bought a book about English coats of arms. Just fascinating. My favorite symbol in heraldry is the eagle, which stands for strength, stamina and skyward flight. I also used the chevron, one of my favorite patterns. They’re also in my business cards. The chevron is used in heraldry and in the military to signify rank.

I wanted my stationery to be square in shape because as a note card, it just feels so comfortable. I’m partial to square, I don’t know why. I just like it so much. My logo is set on a square too. This meant my envelopes had to be square as well and because I love black, well, let’s get those envelopes in black, shall we? I have a lot of metallic colored pens that would look good on black paper. When deciding on the shape of the envelope, I didn’t want to go baronial. I love timeless things but somehow it didn’t feel right to go baronial.

It’s a bit of a headache picking the perfect mighty thick paper. Which one? Which one? And it should be mighty thick because flimsy is not the best thing to be if you’re a notecard. To a person who doesn’t care, this would all look the same. But yeah, I care.

Here goes my new stationery.

The obsession continues… one of my favorite fictional characters is Sherlock Holmes. He’s probably the most popular detective ever but what I like about this character is his identity is attached to some very cool objects. Like the magnifying glass and the pipe. I designed a vertical fret pattern to represent smoke coming out of the pipe.

Here is Pipe on print.

One last design. My friend RAAB called me one day to ask if it’s okay if they get a dog. I’m always in his house and he knew I had an extremely traumatic experience with a dog when I was young (will somebody please let me know if you know a hypnotist so I can get this trauma out of my system). How sweet of him to ask but it is his house and he can do whatever he wants there. So they got a whippet and named him Agador Spartacus. Let’s just say, I haven’t been visiting him much lately. If I’m being touchy, I would say that my friend has replaced me with a dog. Ah such is life. We must accept change. I’m not familiar with his personality but I’m sure he’s a nice guy. We might even get along because he has English roots and all… Based on his Facebook pictures, he’s a pretty good looking fella. I also don’t want to be bitter so let’s just embrace this hunting dog, shall we?

Yes those are fresh water pearls he’s wearing. Some might call that good parenting. I would call Agador a spoiled brat (Wow I can’t help my bitterness). Here’s Agador on paper with the houndstooth pattern. He is, after all, a hound.

I think Mr. Pamuk from Downton Abbey would approve. (Guapo even with a little dirt on his face after the hunting trip. Ayayay!)

Stationery in action. Tomorrow is RAAB’s birthday and I’m getting ready for it. I used an army green pen to match the military theme of my Chevron design. Got the pens from my recent trip to Tokyo. People there are crazy about paper! I fit in perfectly. My metallic pens are from National Book Store. The clear case packaging is from another country. I’m so sorry but the acrylic boxes here just don’t make the cut. Everything else is made in the Philippines. Yeah!

Once in a while I get the “I love your notecards, where can I get some?” text. Hmm… maybe, just maybe, people would be interested in my simple and pattern-obsessed design aesthetic and would actually go and get some for themselves. I texted my gateway client and mentor Daphne and asked for advice and she said, “Go for it!” So I took a chance and showed my new notecards to Chad from National Book Store and asked if they were interested and they were. (Thank you NBS!)

I sketched a simple design for a display rack and bugged my awesome friend Nina Santamaria who is an excellent interior designer to help me out. Here she is rendering it for me on 3D. She is a gift from god! She finished doing this at around 2am. Thanks Nina…

I also bugged my friend Jj Montelibano who is a contractor and makes buildings to help me with my tiny display stand. Here he is showing us the prototype.

Thank you friends!

The cards will retail for 475 pesos for 10 flat notecards, 10 envelopes and 10 square sticker seals.

Chevron

Pipe

Agador

For updates, I hope you can follow me on Twitter or like my Facebook page.

Read the blog entry here.

You can buy this set online, just visit shop.isabelgatuslao.com

Or visit the following stores:

National Book Store
Powerplant Mall
Space #202 G, R2 Lifestyles, Rockwell Center
Lopez Drive, Barangay Poblacion
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 897 4346
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

National Book Store
Shangri-La Mall
Ground Level
EDSA, Mandaluyong
Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 633 4434
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

PowerBooks
2nd Level, Greenbelt 4, Greenbelt
Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St., Ayala Center
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 757 6428
Hours 10:00 to 22:00

Read the blog entry here.

You can buy this set online, just visit shop.isabelgatuslao.com

Or visit the following stores:

National Book Store
Powerplant Mall
Space #202 G, R2 Lifestyles, Rockwell Center
Lopez Drive, Barangay Poblacion
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 897 4346
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

National Book Store
Shangri-La Mall
Ground Level
EDSA, Mandaluyong
Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 633 4434
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

PowerBooks
2nd Level, Greenbelt 4, Greenbelt
Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St., Ayala Center
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 757 6428
Hours 10:00 to 22:00

Read the blog entry here.

You can buy this set online, just visit shop.isabelgatuslao.com

Or visit the following stores:

National Book Store
Powerplant Mall
Space #202 G, R2 Lifestyles, Rockwell Center
Lopez Drive, Barangay Poblacion
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 897 4346
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

National Book Store
Shangri-La Mall
Ground Level
EDSA, Mandaluyong
Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 633 4434
Hours 11:00 to 21:00

PowerBooks
2nd Level, Greenbelt 4, Greenbelt
Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St., Ayala Center
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone +632 757 6428
Hours 10:00 to 22:00

Thank you Patrice Ramos Diaz, Leah Puyat and Anton Barretto.