23/05/2026
My first large scale branding project was Mindanao Seaweeds Harvest. It took me roughly around 3 years to build it from the ground up. Three grueling long years of traveling to far-flung islands of Basilan, Tawi-tawi, and Zamboanga; of documenting and making sure I was communicating the brand’s core in utmost authenticity.
But somewhere in between those years, I had to pause because of crisis on security — particularly in 2015 where 4 people were killed while 11 others were injured in a roadside bombing attack on the convoy of a local official in Isabela City de Basilan.
It was a harsh, terrifying reality check on what I do. Call me crazy, but I pursued and built a brand anchored in peace and dignity.
How I finally crossed the finish line was through design activism. But first, let me share how I became a design activist.
Long before I took that path, I had to go through my own creative wandering. In 2003, I was deeply entrenched in the fast-paced world of commercial aesthetics in Makati; as a promdi and fresh grad I cut my teeth as a graphic designer for dog-eat-dog ad agencies. Then I spent time as a senior designer for a high-end wedding photography studio, and even crossed oceans to work as an art director for a traveling circus in Malaysia. My job was to sell products through design, polish perfect moments, build spectacular illusions.
But beneath it all, I was searching for something more profound. Took me a decade to finally exorcise that nagging feeling of doing something good.
In 2014, the universe threw me a sign to make a one giant leap of becoming a design activist in a once war-torn island across the mainland Basilan. I found myself on a tiny, flat island. It was so small you could walk around it in an hour, with tsunami evacuation wayfinders pointing to non-existent hills. And my dark thoughts wandered to funny ways to die: How fast should I run when a tsunami hits, or should I just tuck and roll if kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group?
It was also one of the few islands, locals wouldn’t dare cross — sitting dangerously close to areas where insurgents used to clash with the locals or the military. So, imagine my shock seeing long rifles casually held by the community when we reached the shore. Perhaps they were just as shocked to see my team arrive—no hijabs, armed only with cameras, and relying entirely on our escorts' assurances that we were just researchers documenting seaweed farming.
Reaching Basilan in 2014 was about street cred and bragging rights. But later, that bragging right unravelled: I witnessed a community working together to achieve peace and Mindanao Seaweeds Harvest taught me about dignity.
TEAM
Brand Strategy and Brand Design
Myish Endonila
Documentary Photo & Film
Myish Endonila
Niel Patrick Begasa
Copywriting
Jenette Bongo - Bruce
Tim Nubla
