Kulay Watawat
Continuing the Pinoy watawat [flag] study, this blog post focused on kulay [colors]. The drawing is an abstraction of the flag, where the Tagalog words represent the colors and elements.
I used the Ipad & Pencil → Procreate app to study different kulay, letters, and watawat concept layouts. This is digital work, but everything is hand-drawn, from the early studies to the more polished product.
For the font, I used/traced a typeface developed by Aaron Amar called Kawit Free. I am not a type designer, but the concept needed an exciting and fun typeface that supplemented the composition [and meaning]. This is how I found Aaron's work, and I loved his own interests and explorations - from what I can tell from his profile.
To learn more about Aaron and the typeface in Behance.
First up, we've got blue. AKA "bughaw." I opted for bughaw instead of Asul, a commonly used, Spanish-influenced word. This color is all about peace, truth, and justice. Plus, it shows that the Philippines is a loyal and determined country about freedom and independence. It's like the chill friend in the barkada [slang: THE group of friends, gang, squad] who always tries to keep things balanced and fair.
Next, we've got red or "pula." Red represents the blood shed by Filipino heroes who fought for independence and shows that the Philippines is always ready to defend its sovereignty and protect its people. It stands for patriotism, valor, and bravery.
White or "puti." This color is all about purity and integrity. It represents the Philippines' commitment to democracy, equality, and justice for all. This is the meaning and reason for the equilateral triangle shape.
Last but not least, we've got yellow or "dilaw, which symbolizes unity, freedom, people's democracy, and sovereignty [something I learned from this study]. When I was learning this in grade school, the primary meanings I remember were because of the objects - the 3 stars and the sun with 8 rays. The stars represent the 3 regions of the archipelago nation; Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The eight-rayed sun represents each province [like states in the US] that were primary revolutionaries against Spain back in the late 1890s. Pampanga is one of them, the province where I grew up!
It was fun figuring out how to rearrange dilaw to represent the stars and sun. In this version, the letter A is the sun, and its size slightly increased.
Bonus bits:
In times of peace, when the watawat is flying horizontally, bughaw is above, and red is below. When flipped and red is above, the country is in a state of war. Bonus, when the watawat is vertical, the bughaw is to the left for peace times.
