Design Center of the Philippines, the country’s leading agency committed to cultivating a culture that thrives on creativity, value, creation, and innovation has reported that in the year 2023, it has commercialized 446 innovative products, assisted 421 MSMEs, activated 85 creative hubs, and created policies for the country’s design sector which supports 705,000 jobs that contribute to 1.8% of the national employment and generating PhP1.2 trillion in Gross Value Added (GVA), equivalent to 6.6% of the national GVA.
The economic contribution of Design Center, the DTI attached agency with a mandate to promote design as a problem-solving tool and catalyst for positive change in the Philippines, was presented during a Media Salo-Salo in celebration of the illustrious 50-year history of the Design Center. The event was also attended by partners from the private sector and other government agencies.
The Design Center also presented its latest sustainable innovation—the Pinyapel initiative which seeks to create value from discarded pineapple leaves through material innovation and product development.
The Philippines, as the third-largest pineapple producer in the world, produced a remarkable 2.86 million tons of pineapples in 2021. However, this production comes with environmental challenges, as approximately 1.3 million tons of agricultural residue, primarily from pineapple leaves, accumulate annually. With this, only 2% of these leaves find purpose in fiber production, leaving 98% as waste.
In response to this environmental concern, the Pinyapel Initiative has established a state-of-the-art facility, called the Pinyapel Pulp Mill, with the capacity to recycle 20 metric tons of pineapple waste per day, converting them into valuable products for various industries.
The Design Center organized the Pinyapel Investors Forum, where investors, agencies, and government representatives gathered to forge an optimistic approach to realizing the generation of this Php2 billion sustainable investment in the Philippine economy.
“These achievements indicate that design significantly contributes to the Philippine economy,” Executive Director Rhea Matute, who presented Design Center’s achievements for the past year, said. “As we celebrate the half a decade journey of the Design Center of the Philippines, we look back on how we have helped Filipinos get meaningful jobs and businesses in the design space and we look forward to continuously shaping the future with eye-catching, story-telling designs that address human needs and solve problems with malasakit.”
During the event, some notable accomplishments of the Design Center were further highlighted, including the Design-led Renaissance, Design Week Philippines, “Making Design Count” policy brief, which recommended policies to increase design awareness and embed design in business.
The Design Center also reported that it has collaborated with 80 international organizations to promote Philippine design globally and enhance the country’s creative landscape and innovative skillset.
In honor of the Design Center’s golden milestone anniversary in 2023, a public exhibition will premiere at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila on December 12. This exhibition will present a carefully crafted timeline detailing the 50-year progression of the Philippine Design Industry, providing an exploration of its dynamic history. Open to the public, the exhibition will run until March 3, 2024, inviting all to experience this journey.
The upcoming exhibition will highlight the work of 50 designers and manufacturers who will reimagine the iconic Buri chair, originally designed by Arturo Luz, a National Artist, and the founding Executive Director of the Design Center of the Philippines. Beyond a simple tribute, the exhibition embodies a transformative endeavor, aspiring to cultivate a design sector that champions inclusivity and diversity. It seeks to empower designers by providing improved access to resources, trends, cultural insights, and traditions, thereby elevating their craft, and encouraging innovation.
About the Design Center of the Philippines
The Design Center of the Philippines is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) mandated to promote design as a problem-solving tool and catalyst for positive change.
In 2013, the Design Center of the Philippines further enhanced its role in the development of the design industry and the creative economy through the Philippine Design Competitiveness Act of 2013 (also known as Republic Act 10557), expanding the agency’s mandate in promoting design to improve the creative branding competitiveness of quality Filipino products in the global market, create value for Filipino products through strategic development and sustainable economic growth, and enhance the quality of life through innovation.
