As early as 6000 BC, Filipinos developed and used their own writing script as their primary communication tool, known as Baybayin. During the 1500’s, colonization replaced the writing system with the roman alphabet. By 20th century, there was almost no trace of the script, only seen as a fad or hobby.

In 2019, Baybayin is once again present,

not as a script, but as a new font,

fully integrated into the modern alphabet, now called BayBayan.

Campaign name: BAYBAYAN = Baybay (to spell) + Bayan (nation)

The font was created and developed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP),

to reintroduce an important piece of the country’s identity.

The phonetics of Baybayin were matched with their alphabet counterparts.

The graceful strokes of Baybayin were combined with the hard edges of san serif,

and finally, colors were used to differentiate the two writing systems, all to create geometric harmony.

The result is a highly accessible educational tool for this piece of Philippine culture.

Over the course of history, art has been compelled to evolve in order to maintain relevance and reach wider audiences. As the Cultural Center of the Philippines celebrates its golden anniversary, it continues to be at the forefront of the evolution of Philippine arts by exemplifying excellence in the arts, partnering for leadership in the arts, and broadening the reach of the arts.

The CCP’s 50th Anniversary celebration, anchored on BayBayan, aims to reach out to the very broad market: SEC ABC, 16-50 y/o, with a goal of sparking curiosity, sustaining interest, and continuously educating them on the country’s heritage and culture.

As a font, BayBayan seamlessly found itself in many media touchpoints: outdoor, TV, digital, and BTL, successfully reaching the wide market. Given the need for an even wider reach, pre-launch began on March to promote consistent noise and talkability until the official anniversary on September.

The font was launched in March 2019 through outdoor (institutional flags, island banners, e-billboard), corporate materials (newsletters, envelopes, postcards, PR kits, shirts, pens, bags), and in their anniversary logo.

On the same month, Chris Millado, CCP’s artistic director, was invited by major TV channels such as CNN and ANC to discuss BayBayan and CCP’s 50th anniversary. Online content implemented in CCP’s Facebook and Instagram pages were also produced to accompany the kick-off.

During the 50th Anniversary presscon on June 20, 2019, while presenting pre-produced corporate materials to the press, Chris Millado marked the start of 50th anniversary celebration through an official release of the Baybayan font (on CCP’s website and the baybayan.ph microsite) to the public on August 2019. He also announced the continuous use of the font across their publication materials for the shows lined up for the year.

The campaign was praised by academic professors and scholars of the Filipino language.

“It’s quite a unique and interesting way to approach and innovate the Baybayin

writing system itself.”

Bomen Guillermo

Dept. of Filipino and Literature

University of the Philippines

“It gives a sense of identity, pride, and commitment.”

Professor Felipe Jocano Jr.

College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Department of Anthropology

University of the Philippines

Picked up by the news and media outlets (CNN, ANC News, Branding in Asia, Type Directors Club, etc.)

REACH - 6,441,564

ACTUAL MEDIA INVESTMENT - ₱50,000

EARNED MEDIA VALUE - ₱6,698,882

Online, numerous requests were made for an online keyboard of the font. It is now under development.