who is: Gia Lara / De La Salle University / Graphic Artist : Web Designer

url: www.desperateinnocence.com / www.kulay.net

site category: creative personal / portfolio site

inspiration: My main inspiration is music when it comes to my blog layouts. I believe that blogging isn’t all about the words or pictures when you’re also web designer. I make it to a point that every layout reflects my feelings and my current state of mind. Music has diverse lyrics I could relate to. And once I hear the perfect lines, there is nothing that could stop me from designing. In a way, it is music + feelings. Designing also serves as my therapy. It’s quite amazing how you can create something beautiful even out of sadness.

When dealing with clients, I make sure I know what they want so we can blend our ideas almost immaculately. This is quite challenging yet ultimately rewarding. I get inspiration from almost anything, even from toothbrush colors.

tools: Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Dreamweaver and Notepad.


influences: My main influence is my fellow bloggers. Although I would say there were more artistic bloggers 3 years ago. I am also influenced by my brother because we’re both into arts and he’s like a mentor to me. I don’t think I will have a defined list of influences. It varies from time to time, it varies from what I am exposed to. In a way, it is a search. It keeps my eye open to new possibilities and inspirations.

how do you see the web and design industry in the Philippines: I see it as a work in progress. And it is progressing rather quickly with the improvement of the quality of Internet services Filipinos are exposed to nowadays. Companies are more aware that they need to take advantage of the capabilities of a website to attract, and even support clients. This gives designers the honor of using their talent in a way that gives a great sense of fulfillment for both parties. Gone are the days when art and functionality don’t match. Nothing can stop this industry from blooming.

offline: Other than designing I love taking pictures, dancing, reading, writing, crafting and sitting in silence with music flowing through my earphones. Shopping is my current favorite hobby.

advise to an aspiring Filipino Women designer: Be a risk-taker. Let the world see your designs and believe in your gift. Opportunities are immeasurable in design. So make sure you keep your passion burning even through the littlest of ways. As long as you have eyes and you can see how infinite beauty is, your motivation and inspiration to design won’t fade out.

who is: Frances Louella Cadawas aballa "Ella" / Fine Arts-UST

url: www.babytuknene.com / www.ellasaballa.com

site category: personal :: flash website

recognition/ awards: Best Site of the Year (2003) and People's Choice Award [Personal Cagetory]

inspiration: usually visits designersdepot.com; design communities like Fuel Factor

tools: Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash.

knit the web style : "I don't limit myself with a particular design/designer. When I do sites, I make it an effort to make it different from one another since each of them has different audiences"

advices to aspiring designers: "TUTORIALS ARE A BIG HELP. Refer to the tutorials of the software programs you are using or visit web sites taht provide online tutorials like flashkit.com. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. Bribe the experts with a cup of frapuccino or just say "thank you." GET INSPIRED. Look for sites or designs that inspire you. Save them in your "favorites". Draw inspiration from them by visiting them as often as you want. KNOW WHAT'S NEW. about designs, softwares and technology. "IF THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY"

offline: loves to read mags', plays guitar and loves to cook

who is: Annabelle Ragay "Bel" / BSIT-San Beda

url: www.greencapsule.org

site category: personal :: static html /flash/javascript site

recognition/ awards: Philippine Blog Site of the Year (2003)

inspiration: Drew Europeo of Philweavers; Half Project; usually visits sigaw.net/d3

tools: HTML , dynamic html, javascript, Macromedia ; Adobe ; Evrsoft 1st Page 2000 - html editor, notepad,

knit the web style: "Simplicity is beauty. I even compare this idea of mine towadrs design to myself. The more you put your personality into your design, the more it become appealing"

advices to aspiring designer: "Always (at all times) use your own UNIQUE style. Just squeeze out all those creative juices out of you and mix that with a bit of personality and unique stlyism... you'll always be good to go with all that ingredients. =) But also you must not forget to always EXPERIMENT and have fun coz designs aren't always taken out of books and patterns... they're all taken from your own hands and heart. =) "

offline: reading books, downloading mp3s, paint old canvas occassional

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who is: Liezl A. Buenaventura / U.P. Fine Arts: Studio Arts-Painting, and is currently finishing a BFA degree in Fine Arts: Visual Communication- Advertising / Filipino-Chinese

expertise: Digital paintings, watercolor, acryllics, and pen and ink,also proficient in oil, charcoal, and color pencils.

folio: www.trinitycross.net

other information you can share? I consider myself an artist first and foremost, living and breathing art in everything I do. I love to paint, read, write, and am quite enamored with my desktop-- in point of fact, I'm hardly ever away from it. :)

inspiration : I have many inspirations when I design, though usually I tend to focus on whatever mood I'm in at the moment. I'm an avid fan of white, clean spaces, though in recent designs I've been playing around a lot with reds and blacks. I also tend to use a lot of my own paintings/art in my site designs. :).

tools: Photoshop and Dreamweaver are my tools of the trade, though I also use Image Ready and Macromedia Director when I want motion.

influences: Orisinal.com and 2advanced.com are my favourite sites. They're not necessarily influences, but I definitely look up to them. The marriage of form and function, I felt, was in perfect synch in both cases, though one chose a modern, techno approach, while the other was light and playful. Both really impressive sites. :)

life without the internet? Quite lonely, I suppose. The anonymity of the internet is what I love about it, an endless game of cat and mouse. I don't go on-line because I want my Real Life (RL) friends to read my blog, I go on-line because I need a place to unwind. I can make friends here who know so much and yet so little about who I truly am, and the distance and the closeness they provide is what the real world lacks. On the internet, I am always in control-- if I dislike a person, I can always choose to ignore them. Not so in RL, as one has to constantly be aware of their actions towards other people The internet is communication, but communication on one's own terms. Brilliant, really.

how do you see the web and design industry in the Philippines? I see it as a blossoming industry that is constantly growing and evolving into something better. Our designers are all quite promising, and I look forward to the day when we break more fully into the international market's greats. Slowly but surely, we're getting there.

other hobbies aside from designing: I'm a martial artist and am currently one of the instructors at UP's arnis team. It's a great way to keep in shape and let off some steam. Beyond that, it makes me proud to be Filipino. :)

advise to an aspiring Filipino Women designer: Be original and express yourself. It may sound corny, but it's true. Evolving as a designer means you have to look inside yourself and project who you really are on screen. It's a lot like painting really, as you're putting a piece of yourself on paper or the computer screen. Admire other sites but be true to who you are-- whatever you produce will always be beautiful if you're true to yourself.

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who is: Angela Sabas/ Laguna, Philippines

url / folio: indisguise.org

info: I am the middle child, have two sisters, and I have a wonderful family. I've technically graduated from De La Salle University - Professional Schools, Inc, as a BS in Computer Science, majoring in Software Technology.

been doing: I'm a seasonal, erratic writer; I've been freelancing (web development, web design) since the summer;and a hobbyist at heart -- I'm interested in a lot of things. :)

inspiration: It depends on what I'm doing. For PHP scripts/applications that I create, I suppose it would be me looking for a better, easier way of doing things, of managing websites -- something *I* would like to use: anyone else's opinions come afterward. For layouts, most usually the inspiration would come from a photo/image, and I build my design around it. Recently (like the past week or so) I've been more into functional than "pretty", hence all my recent sites have a same basic style.

tools : Adobe Photoshop -- I use it for practically everything. A graphic pen tablet - a kind-of-battered Wacom Graphire 2 (it's battered since it keeps falling, and the tip is not rounded anymore, hehe). HTML(+PHP) by hand using Notepad, occasionally EditPad if I'm looking for something a little more advanced. I've used Dreamweaver but I still end up coding the HTML on my own, so a lot of its powerful features are lost on me, hence I don't really use it. I have also switched to designing for Mozilla Firefox and validating my HTML (XHTML 1.0 Transitional) and CSS (2.0). Hmmm, what else? I also have a Canon Powershot A80,which I use to take photographs. :)

influences: I know a lot of people online (most of them foreigners, as I'm active in an international community, The Fanlistings , and I admire a lot of their work. For fellow filipinas, I like the designs of Erika , Sabine , and Pia . For foreigners, some of them who immediately come to mind are Cathrine, Danielle and Sasha . All of those are friends ;). I usually go for something simple, but not plain. :) I like elegance and minimalism, though intricate designs that have a lot going on can also spark my admiration (if it's well done).

life without the internet? If the Internet had NEVER been created, and I never knew about anything like it, I won't miss it -- not just because I don't know what it is, but because I love reading (I practically devour books ;)); and I was actively writing fiction before I discovered the Internet. So it's not a big deal. If right now, the Internet was shut down or something, and I have no access to it... well, I'd be devastated, of course, and be angry and irritable and mopey -- but in the end I know it doesn't matter, and I'll always find new avenues for expressing what I want expressed, so it's no big deal.

how do you see the web and design industry in the Philippines? It's gaining momentum. I'll admit it's not as far along as I'd want, as in other countries, since I'm exposed to a lot of different people online; but I know it's getting there, and I'm pretty pleased at how we (Filipinos) are catching on. Especially at this point in time, I think we should be using everything that we can -- all tools and all resources that we have -- in order to help raise our economy. It's really up to us, as individuals, to help alleviate our country, and at least for me, I know that this industry will be useful and helpful in the long run. Almost everyone's into it, after all.

other hobbies aside from designing? Other than developing and designing, it would be reading and writing. Books have always been a big part of my life, and they'll always be. I'll admit that I slacked off on the latter two during college, but I've started to get back into them this year. I've been writing (stories) since I was seven, and while I haven't done much fiction writing recently, I've always journalled -- it's seldom that a day goes by that I don't write something.

advise to an aspiring Filipino Women designer: Find your style, something that is distinctly you, something that inspires you and excites you. It has to make *you* happy. As with all art, the first person you should please is yourself -- others are secondary. If you're not pleased with your work, why would others find pleasure in it? Also, I think it's important right now that we try to gear our creativity towards Filipino things. We're a terribly Westernized people, and I think it's sad that we're losing our Filipino-ness, or that being Filipino nowadays mean that we're in love with the Western world. You should learn as much as you can from other cultures in other countries, but it shouldn't make you forget who you are, deep inside. We should be proud of our roots. :)

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