Collaborators

Dave Ferrer Collaborator on "Dance in a Fountain!"

Dave studied Visual Communication at the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts. It was here where he first was introduced to the world of creativity and ideas. He ended up topping his advertising thesis class. So, when it was time to hunt for a job, he decided to apply at as many advertising agencies in Manila. He started his career at Ace/Saatchi & Saatchi, moved to BBDO Guerrero Ortega, and is currently at JWT Manila. Fast forward twenty plus years, three agencies, and a couple of international awards later, the industry and its evolution still continues to fascinate him.

He derives a lot of his inspiration fr om all things to do with art, design, and architecture. When he does travel overseas, he gravitates towards exhibits, museums and galleries over shopping malls and theme parks. He married an artist and has two sons who draw better than he ever could.

RC Bañares Collaborator on "To-do lists have power!"

Already nearing a decade in the advertising industry, RC has gone through numerous adventures. He started with J. Romero and Associates as a fresh grad from the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts. Since then, he has ventured to PC&V, where he met Kat, then to TBWA/SMP. His print work for Bench Fix and Preview Magazine with TBWA received awards, earning him a place at the Top Art Director Creative Ranking back in 2013, as surveyed by the Creative Guild of the Philippines. Now in Publicis Manila as a Senior Art Director, he continually seeks to enrich his work (and life) experiences. Outside the office, RC currently shares his knowledge of advertising and fundamental design as a part-time lecturer at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. In his spare time, he loves taking care of his pug daughter Princess Sarah, gracing TV screens, and painting, which he plans to exhibit soon.

Kajo Baldisimo Collaborator on "E-N-E-R-G-Y!"

Kajo was born and raised in Makati. He spent his teen years attending Manila Science High School and working on Tagalog komiks. He went to the University of the Philippines Diliman, College of Fine Arts and left after a year to pursue a career in graphic design. Several web designs and concept artworks later, he worked as a visualizer and junior Art Director for a major ad agency in Makati where, during lunch breaks, he co-created the comic book Trese with Budjette Tan. He recently Illustrated a story written by Russell Molina entitled, 12:01 and co-created several creatures for a book called The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo. He's currently drawing storyboards for a living, while co-creating more komiks such as Trese, Josef Miggy & Yaya Karol, Walong Kwentong Walang Kwenta, and Mga Drawing ni Kajo, art books, and producing new limited edition art prints annually. Kajo just wants to draw forever.

Dan Matutina Collaborator on "Seize every reason for a celebration."

Dan is a graphic designer and illustrator. He is a founding partner at Plus63 Design Co. In 2013, he received the Art Directors Club Young Guns Award in New York.

Dan is represented by illustration agencies Agent Pekka, Vision Track, and YCN. His style is described as a combination of angular, graphic shapes layered with hand-painted textures. Dan's illustrations have appeared in print, digital, and animation. He has worked on projects for brands such as Google, Airbnb, Samsung, WIRED Magazine, Fast Co., Wallpaper*, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Coca-Cola, Havaianas & Uniqlo to name a few.

Dan has also worked with studios and agencies such as Pentagram, Frog Design, CP+B, Wieden+Kennedy, Droga5, Leo Burnett NY, Ogilvy & Mather NY, and Tool.

He has lectured at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts.

Joel Limchoc Book of 40 Designer
Collaborator on "Adventure and blessings await if you are sensitive to the clues." and "Appreciate quiet dependability."

Both as a director and an agency creative, Joel has won advertising honors from the Kidlat and Araw Awards, as well as Asia Pacific Adfest, Spikes, London Inter national Advertising Awards, CLIO, D&AD, One Show, and Cannes.

Presently an in-house director and partner at Film Pabrika, Joel moved to the production side in 2012 after three years in the post of Executive Creative Director of BBDO Guerrero.

He is the youngest inductee to the Creative Guild Hall of Fame. From 2007-2010, he was ranked in the Top 10 of the Philippines Hottest Creatives by Campaign Brief Asia and in the Top 100 of Asia's Best Creatives by Media Magazine. He was named Director of the Year for 2010 and 2012 by Adobo Magazine.

He has consistently won the best dad award to daughters, Snow and Liv, and ranked number 1 supporter to his wife, Kat, the author of this book.

Mary Justine Racho Collaborator on "Delight in shrimp brains and Virgilio Martinez."

Justine is a multimedia artist who is passionate about art, food, and clay. With a degree from the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts, she immediately went into advertising after graduating cum laude. For almost six years, she handled ATL campaigns for leading food and beverage brands for a local agency before working as a Senior Digital Art Director for Leo Burnett Manila. A self-taught cook, her love for food made her interested in ceramic pieces. She learned pottery in 2014 after attending a short class in Siem Reap. She continues to practice ceramic pottery in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Justine lives in Marikina and enjoys walking her two dogs, Benny and Chichi.

Raoul Panes Collaborator on "Kindness can make a world of difference."

Raoul is Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Group Manila. He is a Business Management graduate of the Ateneo de Manila. His mutual fascination with marketing and literature during his college days found its sweet spot in advertising where he has built a career in copywriting. He thinks he may have made the right decision as he has been inducted into the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4A's) Creative Guild Hall of Fame. Away from the hurried pace of advertising, he enjoys letting the rest of the world go by with his wife Jennie.

Jonah Brocka Collaborator on "Kindness can make a world of difference."
Book of 40 Proofreader

Jonah writes stories for a living while writing the story of his life. Despite numerous advertising campaigns and magazine articles he has written, he still considers a 300-word essay about the largest flower in the world his most memorable work. Writing about a flower that smells like decayed flesh earned him an official invitation from the Swedish Royal Family and the Japanese Imperial Couple to visit Sweden.

A bookworm and cineaste, he devours dark and dystopian fiction to feel good about the real world. A failed stint trying to live like a K-Pop star has also left him with the ability to speak conversational Korean. He has also clocked over 1,800 hours playing DOTA 2 since starting his account just three years ago.

And yes, acclaimed Director, Lino Brocka, is his grandfather (his grandfather's brother to be precise), although he has no intention of following in his footsteps…for now.

Paolo Salcedo Collaborator on "Kindness can make a world of difference."

Pao graduated from the Ateneo in 2010 with a business degree. His dream was to work for a big multinational consumer packaged goods company.

Actually, it wasn't. He became a copywriter.

He spent his first four years in adland with TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno. In 2014, he made the move to Blackpencil Manila, where he met Kat—she of infinite warmth and love. Here are some memorable experiences (of both joy and suffering):

• 24-hour young creative competitions.
• Nihonbashi Tei restaurant past midnight.
• Worked on an ad with Cannes-winning director Raymond Red.
• Worked in Singapore with regional creatives for a week.
• Company trips to Barcelona, Istanbul, Seoul, and Osaka.
• Meeting and working with fiercely creative and intelligent people.
• Winning the Oishi pitch with TBWA\ and the KidZania pitch with Blackpencil.

He left the industry in 2016 to gamble on a dream, but he'll always have advertising.

JP Albito Collaborator on "Let them know how much you love them while you can."

JP has been in the advertising industry for two decades. The early half of his career was spent in Manila and the latter part in Vietnam, creating campaigns for beer and petroleum, to shampoo and milk brands. Currently, he continues to dream up ideas as a Creative Director while managing his own agency, Glu, in Saigon. A rocker at heart, JP is also an avid mountain biker and sneaker head. Now, what he enjoys the most is being a dad and spending time with his two sons.

Snow Gomez Collaborator on "Life will teach you what you need to learn."

A talented singer, artist, writer, archer, and balisong (butterfly knife) flipper. A passionate cosplayer. A rainbow head who constantly delights with her bright and ever-changing hair color. A lover of cats and sugar gliders, tattoos and piercings, cheese and sushi, all things kawaii (Japanese for "cute"), and all things Harry Potter. A fearless advocate of gender and mental health issues. Snow is a multi-faceted and multi-layered work in progress. Currently taking up multimedia arts in college, she has yet to figure out what she wants to do as a grown-up. She is the firstborn daughter of Kat, the author of this book. Since she was a little girl until these days, Snow and Kat have always loved having dates where they just eat and chat like friends.

Mike and Angelo Villegas Collaborator on "Life will teach you what you need to learn."

Mike and Angelo are the wonder twins behind many classic advertising soundtracks and songs. The Metropop, Himig Handog, and Philpop songwriting festivals have all included their work either as finalists or winners. They are both composer/arrangers at Hit Productions, and they really, really love Kat and Snow.

Maria Leah "Leigh" T. Reyes Collaborator on "Life will teach you what you need to learn."

Leigh is the President and Chief Creative Officer of Lowe Philippines, and entered the Creative Guild Hall of Fame in 2015. W inner of the country's first gold Clio, she has been awarded and recognized at Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Clio, Spikes, Adfest, LIA, NYF, Art Directors' Club, DMA, and others. She has served on the juries of Cannes Lions, (most recently, as a member of the Outdoor Jury in this year's Cannes), LIA, Adfest, Spikes, Art Directors' Club, and was Jury President of Kidlat 2015 and the Boomerangs, the Philippines' digital marketing and advertising awards. She is currently a board member of IMMAP, and will serve as a Clio juror and Ad Stars executive judge this year.

Leigh was a founding member of MobileMondayManila, an open community platform that brought together mobile visionaries, developers, and enthusiasts. She wants to make stuff and help people make stuff. She is @leighpod on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Isa Natividad Collaborator on "Keep crushing on the hubby."

Isa is a Senior Copywriter and Art Director for a multinational advertising agency. She holds a degree in BA Psychology and BFA Visual Communication from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She has illustrated for various publications and is a member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, (Ang INK) an organization of illustrators for children.

Brent Sabas Collaborator on "Keep crushing on the hubby."

Brent is an Art Director for a top ad agency by day, and an illustrator by night. He is an active member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK) since he joined the organization when he was a Fine Arts junior at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. May Lakad Kami ni Tatay is his first children's book and Sumpa is his first comic book. Brent looks forward to pursuing his dream of being a full-time artist and illustrator. His works have graced Bench's #LoveLocal shirt series, and have been featured in local magazine giants such as Esquire Philippines, Preview, Mega, Adobo, and Team. He has also been included in Real Living Magazine's 2016 25 Creatives To Watch.

Ray Nazarene Sunga Collaborator on "Keep crushing on the hubby."

Ray is an illustrator and designer, based in the Philippines.

Ray loves incorporating his children's book palette and style to his projects, from his digital ads to book design and illustration. He works with either analog or digital techniques.

He is an illustrator of 12 children's books from different publication houses and has designed countless print publication materials for various clients.

Ray is a member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK), a premiere organization of children's book illustrators in the Philippines.

His works can be found at www.cargocollective.com/raynsunga.

You can contact him via email at sunga.rayn@gmail.com. His Instagram is @raymandraws.

Jof Sering Collaborator on "Embrace your virgin whore."

Jof is an illustrator, fashion stylist and creator of beach-inspired lifestyle brand, FELICE.

Formally trained in Clothing Technology at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She was a costume and production designer for film and TV commercials before she moved to Boracay in 2008, working at the Mandala Spa while designing island-inspired city clothes for Beach Baby Clothing.

When she isn't Travelling or styling for magazines and weddings, Jof conducts Beach Day Sunday, a basic watercolor workshop for all ages, at craft studios and in private sessions.

In 2016, she opened her first Felice shop in Siargao Island, where she lives with her three dogs, Punto, Whitey, and Grigio, and one husband, Fabio.

Tweet Sering Collaborator on "Embrace your virgin whore."

Tweet is the author of the novel Wander Girl (2004, Summit) and of the memoir Astigirl: A Grown Girl Living On Her Own Terms (2011, Astigirl Publishing).

Wander Girl, about a fictional travel book publisher's journey of self-discovery, was named one of the "best Philippine books of 2004" by the Manila Critics Circle. The e-book edition (2012, Flipside) was shortlisted in the 2013 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards. Astigirl, about the author's belated coming-of-age in her mid-30s, was included in Preview magazine's 2011 Creative It List and shortlisted in the 2012 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards.

Her one-act play, The Tuesday Club, about a regular porn-watching group of college friends, received the 2000 Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature.

Her writing has appeared in Cosmopolitan Philippines, Female Singapore, Seventeen Philippines, Preview, Esquire Philippines, and The Philippinestar.

In 2012, she was named one of Spot.ph's 10 Women Who Changed the Game.

Rose Yenko Collaborator on "Find the work you love to do."

Rose Marie Yenko is an Artemis mother to Kat, the author of this book, and her sister, Jess, and grandmother to Snow and Liv, valuing their growth, personal power and calling. She is a clinical and organizational psychologist, with a depth /Jungian perspective. Her practice includes working with adults and couples in their life transition issues, and with organizations reflecting on their vision, culture, and typology. After decades of working with a range of social change issues, her present focus now is on how we Filipinos can appreciate and nurture the gold in our psyche, and claim greatness and pride in who we are.

Robert Anthony "Ton" Acuña Collaborator on "Find the work you love to do."

Ton is a Philippine High School for the Arts, and University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts graduate.

Ton spent 16 years in advertising as Head of Design in JWT and eventually put up a graphic design company called Brain Juice, Inc. with a business partner.

He rekindled his love for painting when his family relocated to Vevey, Switzerland in 2009. Throughout his travels in Europe, he was greatly motivated to pursue impressionism and surrealism styles upon seeing the classic works of Van Gogh, Dali, Monet, Chagall, and Cezanne. Modern pop surrealist artists such as Ceccoli and Sorren, also inspired Ton's current art style as well.

In 2015 back in the Philippines, Ton had his 1st one man show called "Sabi Sabi", a show inspired by Philippine old-wives tales.

Ton is currently living in Singapore.

Daniel Tingcungco Collaborator on "Not team mates, family."

Dan is an advertising Art Director and illustrator based in Manila. Kat was his first Creative Director in advertising, and one of his mentors when he was developing his illustration style. He won 2nd place local prize (Philippines) at Korea's Daekyo Eye Level Literature Awards in 2013 for his original children's picture book story and illustration, The Boy Who Wanted to Fly. He also represented the Philippines in the 2016 Adfest Young Lotus Competition in Pattaya, Thailand. When not drawing, he enjoys travelling, making and drinking lots of coffee, eating anything Japanese and going around town with friends looking for new places to eat. He is also a member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK). He posts illustrations often at his Instagram @cafedandy and his online portfolio at danieltingcungco.com

Robert Labayen Collaborator on "It's important to find a place to meet God regularly."

Robert worked in the advertising industry for a little over 20 years. For his remarkable career, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 4As Creative Guild of the Philippines. In 2004, he moved to ABS-CBN to become its head for Creative Communication Management. The songs he has written for the ABS-CBN Christmas Station IDs are being sung by Filipinos all over the world. Robert has held two art exhibits at the Ayala Museum. He writes for his own blog titled "Executips" which can be accessed at robertlabayen.com

Marj Tayle Collaborator on "Remember the starfish."

Before working in the advertising industry, Marj worked as a background artist in various animation studios where she learned the value of working hard to earn. Making the shift to advertising was difficult. She tried to juggle two careers working day and night until she finally made the complete jump to her current career as a Senior Art Director, earning some awards and recognition along the way.

For inspiration, she looks to her 10-year old daughter, Gari, who also loves creating stories through her drawings. Marj dreams of doing a mother and daughter collaboration with her someday. Being a part of this book is a start. By keeping positive, staying grateful and kind, she knows they will make it happen.

Reuben James Fermin Collaborator on "There is so much to love about the Philippines."

Reu, whose nickname has always been mistaken for a Street Fighter character, is a young Manila-based Digital Art Director in an advertising company, who dreams of becoming a famous artist.

When he embraced his individuality, the passion and fervor for gender equality was awakened in him, greatly influencing his art and life. With coffee and his significant other by his side, he wishes to travel the world and see the epic beauty beyond what he sees on the computer screen, fighting for what he believes in.

Ang Gerilya Collaborator on "Since pre-colonial times, we knew what great leadership was."

Gerilya is an artist collective formed in 2008. Its three original members, Jano, Kube, and Zap, hail from the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines. Gerilya is involved in various art-related activities and experimental ventures such as comics, street art, graffiti, animation, fine art exhibitions, and illustration commissions. Their work is inspired by Philippine culture and history, exploring socio-political issues and national identity. They seek to make their art as relevant as possible and draw influence from Philippine popular and mass culture.

Carlos Guadarrama Collaborator on "Be a lifelong learner."

Guads, as he is more commonly known, earned his B.S. in Management Major in Communications Technology at the Ateneo de Manila University. Since 2005, he has built his career as an art director and garnered industry commendations in advertising by servicing multinational and local clients, from direct marketing to full-service brand communications.

Guads is a relentless learner. In grade school, he taught himself how to use Photoshop. He continues to practice illustration, photography and other forms of visual arts. He consumes books, graphic novels, films, shows, and video games in his free time; and is always on the lookout for the latest promo airfare. He loves to cook.

Guads is married and resides in Metro Manila. He is currently a Creative Director and the head of the creative department in a digital advertising agency. He constantly dabbles in different facets of communication, art, technology, and design.

Mars Narcida-Jr. & Abelard Narcida Collaborator on "Look up and wonder."

Father and son team, Mars and Abelard, helped in the computation for the idea "Look up and wonder."

Both love math and enjoy the challenge of it. Both had fun creating and solving the equation to answer the author's question and presenting the solution in the simplest way possible.

Mars is a Mathematics graduate from the Ateneo de Manila University and Abelard is currently a Materials Engineering student in the University of the Philippines.

Missy Galang-Macabante Collaborator on "Staying healthy means having more fun."

Missy is a living paradox. She has an MA and an MBA but wanted a BFA. She is a conservative liberal, a tough wimp, a dreamer-pessimist, an angry pacifist, a scrupulous free spirit.

Life led her to become a copy-based creative and she worked with Kat for seven years in three different advertising agencies. Though Missy has moved 7,393 miles away to sunny San Diego, she still keeps in close contact with her "mother".

Despite being indecisive about everything else, she focuses on four things: her advertising career, fitness, her husband, and their cat, Frankie. Determined to keep fitness a part of her life, she tries every fitness fad and training style and even got a personal training certification.

In her free time, she dreams about conquering the world (albeit not knowing exactly how just yet).

Roz Patiño Book of 40 Designer
Collaborator on "Staying healthy means having more fun."

Roz currently works with Kat as a Creative Team Head in Blackpencil Manila. He lives in Manila with his wife, Tam, and son, Anton. Besides graphic design, he loves to cook, clean the house, and think things.

Because he's the art director of Kat's book, he has the ability to put his photo on the right side of the layout. Also, he placed a hidden Mickey in the book. If you find it, find him on Facebook and send a photo. The first one to submit will receive 100 pesos.

Juan Ariel Comia Collaborator on "Family takes any form, when formed with love."

Ariel is a multi-faceted creative person. He has taken on a variety of roles throughout his school life and professional career – from being a stage director, choreographer, musical director, jingle writer, set designer, painter, to being a visualizer, art director, copywriter, photographer, blogger, and entrepreneur. His biggest role to date is being President & Chief Creative Officer of his own company, PC&V Communications, a successful all-Filipino advertising agency that he co-founded with former colleagues from JWT Manila. Ariel balances the demands of advertising life with personal pursuits – as an avid toy collector, a certified dog lover, and a travel buddy to his partner of 28 years. "Boredom is not in my vocabulary," he says. "There's always something to do in the world; there's always a role that someone has to fill, to make things happen."

Liv Limchoc Collaborator on "Liv with joy overflowing!"

Liv has brought happiness to the world for as long as she has been in it. As of the publication of this book, she is seven years old. Everyone who meets her is amazed at the crazy happy energy that always seems to be overflowing from her. She spends most of her days drawing and crafting projects from boxes and whatever materials she finds around the house. Her parents, Kat, the author of this book, and Joel, have come home to exhibits of her drawings (which are for sale – the clever kid), books and storyboards that she had created, and once, a banner attached to the ceiling above the bed (so the family could see something "cool" the moment they woke up.) Wonderful and clever ideas just seem to flow out of Liv, making her parents think that she is so much more creative than they are.

Rowena D. Lazatin Collaborator on "Never lose the sense of play."

Owie's interests include a love for black, Neil Gaiman, Tim Burton, Emily the Strange, toys, and everything Korean.

As a child, she played with her sister's discarded handkerchief box using clear plastic, tape, paper, and barbecue sticks to create a TV set. Little did she know that she would grow up crafting storyboards for TV commercials, some of which would reap awards & recognition, as a Senior Art Director for an advertising agency!

This same mindset of combining "DREAM" and "PLAY" keeps things fun! She likes to start each day like a game with different challenges and difficulty levels and winds down by playing her favorite app at night.

A Thomasian, she once played art teacher for basic painting and cartooning to little kids. Owie wishes to paint once more. For now, she dreams of writing, illustrating, producing and directing a short, stop-motion animation feature.

Mary Velmonte Collaborator on "Do it. Whatever it is you said you want to do. Just do it already."

Mary is a Creative Director during her work week and a Filipino craft enthusiast during her weekends. A half corporate and half handmade artist, she is a firm believer that inspiration in one aspect of life can help fuel the other. Striking a balance between the two parts of her life keeps her on her toes and her creativity flowing.

Her main passion project is Takatak Project, a craft initiative that aims to keep the craft of making takas alive. Living pieces of history, takas are traditional handmade paper maché figures made in Paete – a town that is known for making wooden sculptures and molding paper maché figures.

It is serendipitous that the artwork Kat assigned to her is all about writing down what it is that you want to do and actually doing it. It took her five years before she acted upon a doodle she wrote in her idea notebook and set up Takatak Project – a decision that she feels has truly made her life more fulfilling.

Dingdong Baes Collaborator on "Being audacious keeps life interesting."

Took up Fine Arts at UST (University of Santo Tomas).
Married his college girlfriend.
Has two kids.
Creative Director for a tobacco brand.
Stopped smoking and drinking.
Now wants to be called DD.
Keeps things simple.

Mimi Tecson Collaborator on "May you all be blessed with an Anam Cara."

Mimi likes to pick up small toys, trinkets, scrap paper, and odds and ends, which she uses to create something else. Taking inspiration from these things and using them as a means of collecting and representing her fondest memories, she uses contemporary and traditional techniques in her arts and crafts, twisting old styles and making them her own, producing interesting pieces with a strong reference to pop culture. In her free time, Mimi loves to take random pictures and put them together creatively in a scrapbook. Currently, she is working on her biggest project yet: collecting memories for her son, Leon. Mimi took up Fine Arts at the College of the Holy Spirit and has held various solo and group exhibitions in Manila, Singapore, Korea, and Japan.

Ian Sta Maria Collaborator on "Only in the darkest nights do you see the stars."

A comic book geek since elementary school, Ian started doing comics when he inked pages for Arnold Arre's Batch 72 comic book during his college days. Having spent most of his adult life as an Art Director and storyboard artist jumping from one agency to another, he still found time to co-create and illustrate his own line of original comic book titles which include National Book Store's best-selling graphic novel Skyworld volume 1 and 2, Anino comic's Sixty Six volume 1, Summit Media's Underpass, and a self-published story book Seven Gifts of the Skygods. He currently lives in Billund, Denmark working as a senior concept artist and story driver for Lego by day, and is still a comic book artist by night.

Leo Gonzalez Collaborator on "Let your geek flag fly!"

Leo is a huge bundle of contradictions. Simple yet complicated. Loud but shy. Friendly but introverted. Mature but child-like. Realist but loves fantasy. Unpredictable but is a creature of habit. Sentimental but not romantic. Sensitive but can be emotionally unavailable. Articulate but easily misunderstood. Creative Director who doubled as a Strategic Planner. Boss to some, mother to all.

Jethro Lacson Collaborator on "Let your geek flag fly!"

Jet's portraits take inspiration from music and pop culture, and his style is influenced mainly by Art Noveau. With a diverse set of inspirations ranging from Lady Gaga to Egon Schiele, he is able to blend the old and the new. The playful brush strokes, intricate pencilwork, and attention to detail make each portrait one of a kind. Recently, he was selected to be part of Behance Portfolio Review 2015, a leading online platform that showcases selected illustrators, photographers, and graphic designers.

Des Feliciano Collaborator on "It's important to learn about money (even for us creative types!)"

Des graduated cum laude from the Technological University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Advertising.

She is an artist and comic book illustrator, who is deeply passionate about promoting and teaching financial literacy.

She co-authored The Adventures of Pepot Kuripot and Dora Gastadora while juggling her responsibilities as the Lead Volunteer for the Financial Literacy for Artists and Musicians, and Everyone else (FLAME), Co-Founder of Angat Pilipinas Coalition for Financial Literacy (APCFLi), and Director for Artists Missions.

In her spare time, she dabbles in a lot of passion projects from publishing to game app design, which is an extension of her work as a digital creative at an advertising agency. She loves to travel. Her favorite destination so far is El Nido , Philippines, where she plans to retire and hang out with tour guides with abs.

EJ Salcedo Collaborator on "Stories connect us deeply to each other."

EJ Salcedo is a Fil-American writer/filmmaker who studied Journalism at the University of Houston and is now based in Manila. His varied experiences in life include flipping burgers for McDonald's, joining the U.S. Air Force, loading 16-wheeler container vans for UPS and copywriting for the first advertising agency in history – J. Walter Thompson.

Today, he owns a boutique production house creating award-winning short films, corporate videos, and the occasional wedding videos for close friends.

He feels his two biggest accomplishments in life include having his own English interpreter when his first full-length film, Third World Happy, was shown in Korea. And, becoming a new father at 43 years old.

Alexis Loinaz Collaborator on "A moment can show who you really are."

Alexis Loinaz is a New York-based editor and writer, and an unabashed pop-culture nut. He works as a senior news editor at People magazine, where he oversees its website's movies and celebrity coverage. His past work has been published on E! Online, as well as in The Wall Street Journal and The Village Voice.

He is a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University, where his nimble Jesuit education has still left him pondering the mind-bending mysteries of "being." He went on to study at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where his stories took him to the far reaches of Brooklyn and Queens, and into the homes of some of the most curious, compelling New Yorkers.

An avid kayaker, he has paddled around Manhattan Island, and in one instance, found a dead body floating just north of the city.

Otherwise, he is busy growing his collection of Lego Star Wars sets, and staunchly believes that Greedo did not shoot first.

Fa Bo Collaborator on "A moment can show who you really are."

Fabo is Joel R. Fabonan, an artist who has been in the advertising industry for 26 years. He was in advertising agencies for 18 years and has been a creative freelance artist since then.

He has had solo, joint, and group exhibits in the past. He loves to collaborate. It brings him joy when he discovers and gains an understanding of the people he works with. It gives him the chance to attempt different styles, adapt to different stories and visually narrate them in his own unique way.

His illustrations always deal with the realities of people's daily lives. He easily captures emotions and efficiently blends them together, often adding his kind of humor. All of his works are effective in bringing out different characters with which every individual could connect to.

Daniel Desembrana Collaborator on "A moment can show who you really are."

Daniel is a wispy cloud of a person, a creative leaf born by the stream's current of commercial art in Manila for 20 years and is currently happily eddying in Cambodia for the sole reason of not having to waste his life stuck in traffic, and being where people seem to be simultaneously 20 years behind and 20 years ahead. He spent his early childhood in the red light district of Bangkal, Makati, developed asthma and was saved by the fresh airs of Atimonan, Quezon where he was born on the wee hours of November 17, 1962. Leaving a blue lagoon childhood and studying fine arts in the University of the Philippines, Diliman, his path never really deviated from his love of drawing since he discovered it in a corner of a rented apartment oblivious to screaming sex workers across the street.

Noel Manacsa Collaborator on "A moment can show who you really are."

Noel's interest in visual arts started at an early age and flourished when h e studied in the Philippine High School for the Arts. He took up Visual Communication in the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts while working part-time in a design shop called Comite de Festejos, where artists worked as furniture and handicrafts makers, applying the principle of fusing Philippine art and mythology with crafts. After college, he gave in to the temptation of entering the glitzy world of advertising. For ten years, he worked as an Art Director in a big-name ad agency before he jumped to a parallel world of TVC production. Currently, he is considered a prolific storyboard artist working exclusively to one lame film director. Only a Scorsese or an Iñarritu or a Gomez-Limchoc could make him consider breaking this exclusivity.

Marge Melendez Albito Collaborator on "Spend to create memories."

Marge has loved illustrating since her childhood days, and continues to keep old sketches tucked away. She has illustrated for Preview magazine and other publications for more than a decade and continues to do artwork for various clients. Marge has worked in major advertising agencies both in Manila and Vietnam, and still freelances as an art director while raising her kids at home. She also enjoys helping out in ministry, reading, running, and travelling.

Sue Ann Fuentebella Malig-Nolido Collaborator on "Let go."

Sue is an advertising stalwart, having been in the industry a little before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was released. She first joined a local ad agency before answering the call of Leo Burnett. She has been with the Leo Burnett Group of companies for over a decade, getting her feet wet with handling the McDonald's account and Business Development. Today, she oversees one of the agencies in the group, Blackpencil Manila, where she luckily works with Kat.

She is a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University, having earned a degree in Management Economics. Quite the Math wiz, she initially thought of joining the banking industry, but the thought of wearing a uniform or stiff corporate clothes made her rethink that path quickly.

Sue is inspired by the people who exist in the service of others. Because of this, she relishes being a Rotary Ann (her husband Reggie is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Makati) as she is able to aid in implementing the Club's projects like feeding programs to nurse malnourished kids back to health, distributing schoolbooks to indigent public schools, and rescuing abused children from violent home environments, to name a few.

Having had an exhibit for chalk pastel work ages ago, she is overwhelmingly grateful to Kat for having her drawing again.

Her loves, Reggie, Sydney, and Rafa, keep her grounded and are daily reminders that life is great.

Paolo Garcia Collaborator on "It's #$@&%*! good to be a potty mouth."

For 16 years, Paolo patiently worked his way up fr om the spray-mount room as visualizer in JWT Manila to a decent corner office in Leo Burnett Vietnam as a Digital Creative Director. Highlights of his career and life include: • Leading a young and hungry Leo Burnett Digital team to 3 Best in Show awards for mobile, a Media Spikes, and an AME en-route to Mobile Agency of the Year recognition in APAC and Digital Agency of the Year (Gold) and Creative Agency of the Year (Gold) in Campaign Asia. • Being part of a famous one-hit wonder local band and being featured in multiple "Song Hits" magazines. • Being able to kiss singer Regine Velasquez on the cheeks on three separate occasions at age 12. • Being a father to two very adorable little girls. Paolo is also a not-so-articulate person, hence he loves expressing himself with mobile chat stickers.

Dante Dizon Collaborator on" Books make life (and you!) better."

Dante Dizon lives in Manila with his wife, Cat, and his son, Crow. He works as a Creative Director for Leo Burnett Manila, working on ads for McDonald's and Tide. He is also a Creative Director for 13 Lucky Monkey Silversmith, a brand he created in 2008, specialising in bespoke skull rings. He is an avid motorbike rider and classic motorcycle enthusiast.

Wesley Valenzuela Collaborator on "De gustibus non est disputandum"

Working with various mediums such as painting, serigraphy, collage, and sculpture, Wesley's works epitomize the condition and influence of the environment he grew up in, utilizing the city's symbols, sounds, imagery, and narratives as a starting point for his creative process. Using iconography and symmetry as a basis for composition, he reconstructs and reconfigures images collected from varied sources, altering its original context, and placing it within his own visual language.

Wesley Valenzuela is a visual artist and musician born and raised in Sta. Cruz, Manila. He plays guitar for the shoegaze-instrumental band, Monochrome.

Herbert Hernandez Collaborator on "Your life manifests your thoughts."

Herbert was previously Creative Director for DM9JaymeSyfu before joining Y&R as Creative Director, in March 2012. He has won several awards for his work at DM9 and Y&R, and has worked with Land Rover, The North Face, Mini, and the Department of Tourism. Herbert's work has won multiple metals at Cannes, Clio, Award Australia, Spikes Asia, Adfest, APAC EFFIE, and Ad Stars, among other festivals.

He has also handled big clients like Nestle, Unilever, Ford, San Miguel, Smart Telecom, Foodsphere, Tanduay Ice, Colt 45, Inbisco, Colgate-Palmolive, and Splash. Campaign Brief Asia has consistently listed Herbert among the Philippines' Hottest Creatives and, as if being an advertising rock star wasn't enough, he plays guitar after work for the bands, Moonstar88 and 6CycleMind.

Topel Lee Collaborator on "Think of your eulogy and epitaph."

Topel is a director and cinematographer for film and television.

A prolific music video director credited for making some of "the Philippines' best music videos" (FHM Philippines) for rock bands, Bamboo, Kamikazee, Sugarfree, Hale, and 6CycleMind, Lee made his transition to movies with the independent films Bruce and Dilim.

He entered the mainstream with a succession of horror films, including the blockbusters Ouija (2007, GMA Films) and short films in the Shake, Rattle and Roll franchise (2006, 2010, Regal Films).

A graduate of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, College of Fine Arts, where his TV spot for iconic music bar Mayric's was awarded Best Thesis, he went on to train in film production at the Mowelfund Film Institute.

Before becoming a filmmaker, Lee worked in advertising while maintaining a weekly comic strip, Tito's Trip, in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.