Projects Baybayin


Baybayin



Baybayin is a writing script native to the Tagalog people of the Philippines. Baybayin is not widely used in the Philippines nor known to many Filipinos. Largely because it almost became extinct due to colonial influence. Cultural artists have always advocated for its use and today, younger Filipino designers in the Philippines and within the diaspora are starting to embrace the script and create different font designs for the script. I use the script to resist colonial mentality and uplift the culture that existed in the Philippines before colonial rule. 
Colonial Mentality - “a form of internalized oppression that conditions colonized people to believe that their ethnic or cultural identity is inferior to Western culture or whiteness. Therefore, they live their lives striving to be westernized and learning to hate their indigenous roots.”


Type Design

Baybayin Bolo






Baybayin Bolo is a bold display typeface intended for loud headlines or striking titles. With its thick and dynamic strokes, each letterform feels balanced like the weight of a well-designed blade.






Inspired by Filpino blade culture,  the visual style of the letter forms comes from the contours and shapes of blades and hilts. 
 






Baybayin writing workshop during the 2024 “Spectrum of Process” New Faculty & Staff Exhbition at UMBC’s Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC).
Image courtesy of Sandra Abbott, Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC).