The wind and the waves guided how our logo is made
Breaking free from a structured and managed existence to return to the true flow of life, and to the very root of who we are.
"To become free" is the meaning of Alpas, a Tagalog word I kept close to my heart as I crafted this logo with each stroke of the watercolor brush. The pattern featured in the design is not merely inspired by Visayan tribal tattoos but it is drawn directly from them. Traditionally rendered as a continuous, repeating line to embody the visuals of the waves and wind, this pattern represented the flow of energy, spirit, movement, and life itself to our ancestors.
As I worked on the design, I thought specifically of the ocean. My mother comes from Antique, located in the Western Visayas region, right by the sea with less than a minute's walk and your feet are in the sand. I vividly remember a sunset there where I had a small notebook with me, writing poetry, while my cousins and sisters built a bonfire and played near the flames. What stays with me most is how calm the waves were. For a brief moment, all movement seemed to pause, giving me space to just breathe before the ocean took over again.
The tattoo that inspired this logo represents that very movement of life. To survive, we must learn to navigate its flow, understanding that it can be harsh, violent, and carry the near constant threat of drowning. To our ancestors, who lived in harmony with nature, the soul, and the spirit, this flow of life was sacred.
In our modern world, however, this flow has become too structured, too rigid and almost like a cage. It is like a wave pool where everything is controlled by authority and corporations. You are not allowed to swim too far and you are only permitted to follow the paths and the artificial currents they have created for you.
Yet, even within this artificial flow, there are people who resist, artists and creators.
No matter how painful or violent the process of breaking away may be, they fight to breathe outside of this structured routine. They long to feel the true flow of life, of the waves and the wind, the very elements corporations try to replicate for profit. But they could not because people will still seek that authentic connection, even if only for a moment before returning to the realities of survival.
That is exactly what this logo represents, breaking free from a structured and managed existence to return to the true flow of life, and to the very root of who we are.