Design in the Philippines

My wife may have a good job prospect in Manila, Philippines in about a year.

A Few Questions:

  1. What is the Industrial Design scene like in Philippines?

  2. Are there any large corporations with ID departments in Manila?

  3. Is there an ID professional organization in the Philippines?

  4. Are there any ID schools in the Philippines?

  5. How difficult is it to get a working visa in the Philippines (I have 18 years experience in practice, education and design organizations).


    This just came up so I will also do my own research. I just wanted to get information from people familiar with ID in the Philippines.

Thanks

Hey Timf
I’d be curious to know what you find out. I started but never completed my own look into the same questions that you posed. The last time I was in the Phillipines I had wanted (but unable) to visit some of the Universties that offered ID to get a feel for what was being taught. Those would have been the University of Santo Tomas, and University of the Phillipines. There are a few more but I do not believe to be in the Manila area.
From the very limited research I did I believe that there is great potential to improve the current design profession and education over there. It seems that design is applied topically without applying greater content towards design strategy and thinking.
I know that there is great craft there but the country has not experienced the same industrial growth as its neighbors (which I take to be good and bad) I’m not sure what that is attributed to.
Keep me posted on your findings. Best of Luck!

Hi Timf,

I’m an ID grad from the Phils. Im currently working as a chief ID for a large multinational company located in Cebu,Philippines.

Pls see comments below…

A Few Questions:

  1. What is the Industrial Design scene like in Philippines?
    Most of our ID grads are working in furniture, graphic design and product design. Some of the ID grads are working in China as product designers.

  2. Are there any large corporations with ID departments in Manila?
    I don’t have a figures of how many companies have their own ID staff. But a huge demand of ID are in Cebu because of furniture design. You might have heard of well known industrial designers coming from Cebu.

  3. Is there an ID professional organization in the Philippines?
    Yes…you can contact the Product Design and Development Center of the Philippines PDDCP. They are under our Department of Trade and Industry.
    They can give you a complete information of ID in the Philippines.

  4. Are there any ID schools in the Philippines?
    There are a lot of ID schools in the Philippines…
    University of Santo Tomas
    De La Salle University-College of St.Benilde
    Mapua Institue of Technology
    University of the Philippines-Diliman
    University of the Philippines-Visayas Cebu
    Womens University

    \

  5. How difficult is it to get a working visa in the Philippines (I have 18 years experience in practice, education and design organizations).
    With your expertise, I guess it won’t be that hard.


    Thanks,
    design_natin

design_natin

Wow, thanks for the information.!