The Benildean

the benildean

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As a part of the Art + Design team in the Benildean Press Corps (BPC) for our magazine publications, I did the typography for the section openers on the "Aftermath" issue and illustrations on the "Emergence" issue.

ABOUT THE BENILDEAN

"The Benildean" is the official campus magazine of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde published every term. Different teams of students compose the Benildean Press Corps (BPC)—who work together to create the school's publications. In each magazine, we have a theme that we discuss to raise awareness.

THE AFTERMATH

VOL. 4 NO. 3

This magazine features the aftermath of a struggle. The remains caused by the country's corruption, violation, and debauchery. The aftermath no longer remains a lost cause but a channel for a revolution—a prompt to change. Featured in this magazine are stories of those who scoured for debris of hope scattered in people—in words, in art, in faith.

01.

— SECTION OPENERS

After evaluation, the creative director assigned me to create the typography studies for the section openers of the magazine—Pulse (Editorial), Karilyon (Culture), Ablaze (Sports and Technology), Blip (Lifestyle and People), Platform (Literary + Arts), and Profiles (Stories).

02.

— CONCEPT

My idea is to create typography inspired by objects that has a cause and effect—an aftermath, a trace. I listed those objects then matched it to the section titles considering each has its theme. Finally, I started to sketch my studies. I rendered it in minimal versions to be more appropriate in a magazine. The neon colors I used were based on the palette in risograph.

03.

— PULSE + PLATFORM + PROFILES

"Pulse" talks about opinions on matters that are prevalent. I assigned a domino and water ripple on the typography. Waves of lines spread more as the letters fall on top of each other. "Platform", on the other hand, consists of stories and poetry that also reflects the Aftermath theme. Each letter on the window blinds is a light brought to the issue. "Profiles" featured people with thought-provoking stories. I placed the letters overlapping inside in picture frames. Although after revisions, it has changed into a scrabble forming the same word over again like people from different places share a story.

04.

— KARILYON + ABLAZE + BLIP

"Karilyon" is all about the culture, and places of the country. Since we leave a trace to where we go, I decided that the typography for this would be chalk and dust. "Ablaze" reviews sports, fitness, and technology. A perfect fit for this to relate to the theme would be a record vinyl with scratches—old but evolved, worn but loved. Next, I used blocks to build the word "Blip". It sums up what society is also made up of which is lifestyle, interests, and people.

05.

— FEDERALISM: A GAMBLE

Aside from doing the section openers, I also opted to do an illustration for an article titled, "Federalism: a leap to unknown consequences". It talks about President Duterte's plan to change our form of government from democracy to federalism. I thought, changing our government is going to be a gamble. That is the concept of my illustration. The regions of the Philippines (the supposed federal states) are the playing cards. The hands are the President's hands, deciding whether to bet on the future of the Philippines. It could help "make" the country since it is an archipelago. Distributing power could reach more people. But, it could also "break" the country. Giving much power would make local politicians more corrupt.

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THE EMERGENCE

VOL. 5 NO. 1

Emergence is the witnessing of the rise from the aftermath. This issue acknowledges the abrupt changes the Philippines have seen from the actions of the government and the people. The magazine tells the stories and articles that embody the emergence of these circumstances as a wake-up call.

Awkward beats

and pregnant pauses

Through the power of punctuation, a family's story unravels itself,

revealing hidden truths from a past riddled with questions.

The "Platform" section of our magazine includes stories, poetry, and prose centralizing around the theme of the magazine. The title of the story I illustrated for is "Awkward Beats and Pregnant Pauses". Each punctuation points a significance to their choices and actions. My illustration take on this is to compose a picture that places the readers to a unique perspective. By creating tension, I used composition, textures, and negative space to insert the punctuation marks. I carefully planned the light hitting the subjects so that their shadows would form the symbols.

!

She stares into the mirror, not recognizing her own reflection.

The story introduced a mother looking in the mirror not recognizing her face at all. Her physical flaws—red eyes, thinning gray hair, and frail body. The objects scattered on the floor—bottles, tissues, and medicines tells that something was wrong. Her daughter came in and forced her mother to go to the hospital but she was stubborn. In my illustration, the hidden exclamation point is formed using her shadow. I used a contrast in composition, light, and perspective for the scene.

?

Without his son's constant pleading,

he wouldn't have come.

After the encounter with the daughter, the son now asked their father to come home and persuade his wife. However, she screamed at him. He left silently, figuring that she no longer had a grasp with reality. The tilted isometric perspective in my illustration creates a bird's eye view. This context and the grandmother sitting crossed-leg emphasizes her stubbornness of not accepting the truth. The shadow of the father, the mother, and the windows formed the question mark on the floor.

,

She takes a deep breath, exhaling all the tension through her lips.

Her granddaughter visits home. The child hesitated to greet her. She's always mistaken as her mother. The mother told her that her grandfather came. The daughter came in and agreed that her father was right. She should visit the hospital. The mother backs away and exclaims, "I don't know who you are. You have to leave now." In this scene, the coma is a pause, an exhale. I drew the moment where the mother is holding the granddaughter's shoulder, telling something important.

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He's at his breaking point

Seeing his sister sit on the steps outside their mother's house, the brother is not surprised. He remembered the house as a place of escape. The mother greets him. While handing a medicine for memory loss, she shrugs it off and reminds him to go to his football practice. But all he saw was red. He's had enough and snaps at her. "The football game happened 15 years ago!" They're going to take their mother to the hospital whether she likes it or not. Since this scene is a climax, I decided to put them in the spotlight of the kitchen light. The mother and her son standing, her hand retreating from him.

"

She wakes to the light beaming against her eyes.

Bolting up from the bed, the mother gets tensed at the sight of the unfamiliar place. But she hears a familiar voice at the corner of her eyes and there, was her daughter, son, and granddaughter. She tries to talk but her voice chokes back. She tries to held back her tears but was unsuccessful. She knew that she might forget about this but for now she is at ease. This finale of the story is all about warmth. I used the orange sunset windows as the quotation marks, also carefully placing the son and the daughter.