My overdue post about Pilipinas kay Ganda

'The designer has to make sure that the concept is not owned by any other company or institution so they will not say that it is copied' ~Diamat Designs

As an artist I think I should make a review about the infamous Pilipinas Kay Ganda logo. To be honest, the first time we saw it, my brother and I were surprised. I really don't give nasty comments especially when it comes to design or artwork because it's how I respect my fellow artists, and also considering the fact that art is subjective - everybody has their own perspective when it comes to art and I can never say what's good and what's not. It's just probably my own way of thinking that there is no point of comparison no matter how different or similar the designs might be but when I heard the story behind the Pilipinas Kay Ganda logo, I almost changed my mind.

First of all, there are several things to be considered in designing a logo. I have discussed it before on our website and it's called: Two Important Factors in Logo Designing. If you go to that post, you will notice that on the first paragraph, I have emphasized that 'The designer has to make sure that the concept is not owned by any other company or institution so they will not say that it is copied'. As a logo designer this is also one thing that I am very concerned about. I make sure that I do not get into trouble by doing the other way.

So what happened to the Pilipinas Kay Ganda logo? I saw it on TV several times before and I just know they spent 4.8 Billion on promoting it (the money came from the pockets of the Filipino people by the way). They said it's not final yet, but why do they have to spend that much? Our mini-company which is dedicated to giving the best graphic arts in print and web sometimes make awesome designs for FREE... and sometimes when we charge, the payment is always given late (for about 3-6 months). We've had sleepless nights, skipped meals and even sacrificed our own pleasure to get things done but sometimes we never get anything in return. But this 4.8 million logo which highlights mediocrity in every detail does not deserve to be used as something that would represent our country. What a shame!

I heard someone mentioned in a TV interview that an artist is allowed to copy ideas from another existing artwork - YES, I agree with that. We do get inspiration from a lot of logos before we make one, but we see to it that it doesn't look exactly the same as the inspiration. We just get the 'look and feel' of other designs and make something different based on our own ideas. For a project as big as the 'Pilipinas Kay Ganda' promotion, we expect that this should be taken seriously and the designers of the logo should be well educated and prepared but what they did is just very disappointing. So what should be their damage control? I suggest that they hire us. Heck, we'd even offer our services for free just to create a nice looking logo for the Philippines! (pangarap mode) LOL... ok, back to work...