THE campaign slogan of the Department of Tourism (DOT) “It’s more Fun in the Philippines” was first launched in 2012 and has since been present in tourism videos of different regions in the country.
Video greetings of foreign celebrities visiting the country for a concert were taken, making sure they always say the campaign slogan perfectly just as much as Filipinos would like to teach foreign visitors “Mahal Ko Kayo” with the twang never going away.
As this line had already been etched in the minds of the Filipinos and tourists alike, DOT decided to rebrand while still retaining the old slogan.
One of the highlights of this DOT rebrand is the new official typeface “Barabara,” a rehash of the original “Harabara” typeface that was used in the campaign of DOT in 2012. Barabara is said to be inspired from hand-painted jeepney and tricycle signage and even signage on beach resorts here in the country.
In an interview of Esquire Philippines with the 25-year-old art director behind Barabara, Michelle Co, she said they wanted the new typeface to be locally-inspired by local things such as the hand-painted signs. Co works for BBDO, a global ad agency who won the bid to relaunch DOT’s campaign.
Barabara, with its intent to promote the Philippines, has available “Ñ” and the peso sign. It is also already available for download. Here in Davao City, we asked local graphic artists, illustrators, and architects what they think of the new typeface and how this can contribute to the general motive of promoting Philippine tourism.
It works better with the symbol now than the enclosed one before, the way how the “banig” or handwoven mat was also simplified as an idea of a Philippine map with much stronger identity in its typeface. I only expect a variety of style and weight in the font family but overall, it stands out to contrast whatever the colored background of the photo or footage when placed. (Megan Palero, motion designer)
The rebrand effort as a whole is good. But I didn’t like the typeface. It has a lot of sharp edges and corners and generally doesn’t convey what you would normally look for in any country’s tourism campaign. At first glance, the mixture of sharp corners curves are jarring. But still, these are just common design cues that can sometimes be used in ways na hindi tinuturo sa design classes and I do see what they mean when they say na inspired siya by street signs so I’m not totally against it. I would say that it would probably grow on us so let’s give it a chance. (Paulo Rizal, brand designer)
Seeing the Barabara font for the first time, it reminded me of the hand-painted banner way back when I was younger just before tarpaulins became a trend. Nostalgic and “nakakakilig” for me. I think it’s a good thing that DOT is trying to promote the Philippines in this manner, making their ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ campaign more Filipino-ish. Actually, I have this wishful thinking that they would also promote the Baybayin. (Mary Kesselyn Cubero, architect)
From the previous font called “Harabara,” to “Barabara,” I must say that I am extremely amazed by how they connected the style to our local art scene, it feels good to finally see a typeface that represents our traditional painters, I think it’s a great way to show our respect and appreciation to our traditional artists. (Janine Pring, Dreametry Digital Production Agency CEO)
Looking at the font itself reminds me of handpainted signage all around cities. It has that eye-catching traditional feel to it, a familiarity like the “Barya lang po sa umaga” signs on jeepneys and tricycles to the “Tuloy po kayo” at small karinderyas. It's homey, like the Filipino people. (Weleen Latigo, Dreametry Digital Production Agency graphic designer)
At first glance, it has this retro impression, the nicer way of saying “it looks old” but not in any way unpleasant. It is reminiscent and communicates a sense of familiarity given a couple of minutes staring at it. It gave me an “aha moment” when I found out that it was inspired by the handpainted signages on jeepneys. That's the reason why it feels nostalgic. (Jotham Molinos, architect)
I love that they have a fresh take of the campaign through this custom typeface. And it’s nice to know that this was inspired by local references. The design of barabara does reminds me of old art and sign lettering. (Ann Megg Arbotante, illustrator)
Pinoy-ish talaga kung titignan yung Barabara. It reminds me of my childhood kasi ganoon nga naman madalas na stroke ng mga signboards sa paligid. Lalo na kung laking Maynila ka, you’ll see that everywhere in the streets. It looks simple but fun and very welcoming. Plus, if you’ll look closely, Barabara’s strokes look very similar to Baybayin. That alone makes it even more Filipino. (Arielle Roque, Dreametry Digital Production Agency project manager)
The last one used was way better. The typeface in itself I think is alright but not for this use as a government logo. They claim to design this typeface for easy readability but ironically designed it with uppercase letters, which has a far less distinctive shape than lowercase so it makes it harder to read. (Tirso, graphics designer/animator)