The Challenge

Designing for designers requires bravery, precision, and a deep respect for the craft.

For APSDA, the audience was exacting. The work would be reviewed by presidents, board members, jurors, educators, practitioners, advocates, and institutional leaders from the Asia-Pacific design community. These are people with trained eyes and earned opinions. They understand proportion, spacing, balance, history, symbolism, material culture, and the thousand tiny failures that can make a mark feel unfinished.

The deeper task was to help designers recognize themselves in a shared future.

APSDA gathers leaders and member organizations from multiple countries and territories, each with its own design culture, professional context, institutional rhythm, and national point of view. The brand needed to carry that complexity with confidence.

A generic pan-Asian gesture would have flattened the work. Decorative regional motifs would have reduced a serious institution into an attractive postcard. A safe corporate vocabulary offered another trap: too polished, too neutral, too drained of the warmth, intelligence, and cultural life APSDA needed to project.

The answer required discipline: regional confidence, institutional credibility, contemporary energy, and cultural nuance.

It also required trust from people who understand design from the inside.

That called for cultural fluency, typographic discipline, diplomatic patience, and a sturdy tolerance for feedback from people whose feedback is usually correct.

The Approach

The APSDA 2023–2025 board commissioned Design For Tomorrow to develop the new brand system. Led by President Keat Ong of Singapore, with Deputy President Emil Chao of Taiwan and Vice President IDr. Ivy Almario of the Philippines, the board recognized the need for evolution and gave the project its necessary institutional courage.

Their leadership helped carry the work through consultation, scrutiny, refinement, and adoption. In a federation of design leaders, where every detail is visible and every opinion has earned its confidence, that support mattered.

The wider 2023–2025 board brought together representatives from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Macao, Nepal, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, and other Asia-Pacific design communities. The brand needed to earn alignment across this breadth by giving APSDA a shared visual language strong enough to hold difference.

Ric Gindap led a detailed series of discovery, diagnosis, alignment, review, presentation, and rollout sessions with the board, leadership, stakeholders, member associations, and allied or adjacent organizations.

The process moved through several regional moments.

In Kuala Lumpur, Ric flew in for the preliminary brand diagnosis and vision articulation session. This early stage clarified APSDA’s institutional opportunities, visual challenges, and larger role in the region.

In Hanoi, during the group’s assembly, the concepts were presented, discussed, and approved.

In Manila, the refreshed mark was revealed during the PIID Gala x APSDA Awards Gala Dinner 2025.

In Singapore, the system made its trade show debut at FIND Design Fair Asia, bringing the refreshed brand into a major international design industry setting.

In Taipei, the brand was further institutionalized for internal and external rollout.

Across these stages, DFT’s responsibility was precise: to help APSDA articulate a shared visual language while preserving the richness of its regional membership.

The process required both approval and inter-alliance alignment.

For an organization composed of accomplished and opinionated design leaders, consensus rarely arrives because everyone has been served tea. Clarity had to do the real work. The strategy explained what deserved preservation, what required refinement, and how evolution could give APSDA greater coherence without sacrificing the recognition it had already earned.

The Strategy: Respectful Evolution

DFT approached the APSDA rebrand as an act of respectful evolution.

The previous APSDA logo carried recognition, institutional memory, and visual equity. It was familiar to members, partners, and regional stakeholders. DFT’s position was clear: the mark deserved study before change, then refinement with greater intelligence.

The presentation began with logo forensics. DFT examined the existing mark to identify what carried value and what created friction. The analysis found that the old logo’s sharp angle created scalability and legibility issues at smaller sizes. The icon appeared visually imbalanced and produced unnecessary counterspace. The angle of the “A” felt disconnected from the rest of the logo. The existing wordmark, while professional, lacked distinctive character and had spacing issues between the letters.

This diagnosis gave the evolution its logic.

DFT preserved the recognizable equity of APSDA’s visual language while refining the system for clarity, balance, scalability, and range.

The past became more capable.

The Mark

The evolved APSDA symbol retained the strongest memory structures of the previous logo: the triangular form, the folded quality, the gradient energy, and the sense of upward direction.

DFT refined these elements into a more coherent mark built around foundation, elevation, and direction.

Foundation expressed institutional grounding and credibility.

Elevation spoke to APSDA’s role in raising standards, advancing the profession, and strengthening regional exchange for interior and spatial design.

Direction gave the symbol its sense of movement: adaptive, progressive, and oriented toward growth in Asia-Pacific.

The folded triangular form became a symbol of unfolding possibilities. DFT’s presentation connected this to transformation, mindfulness, patience, focus, and growth.

That idea mattered because APSDA’s work is active. The association is concerned with knowledge exchange, accreditation, recognition, professional mobility, education, advocacy, and the advancement of design as a discipline.

The mark needed to suggest progress with composure.

The Wordmark

For an organization of designers, typography carries institutional credibility at the smallest scale. A wordmark can announce authority quietly, or betray uncertainty just as quietly.

DFT rebuilt the APSDA wordmark with careful attention to spacing, proportion, angular logic, and visual rhythm.

Every letter of the APSDA nameplate was crafted to move beyond a typed-out acronym. The result is a bespoke wordmark with greater distinction, coherence, and authority.

This level of typographic care was institutional respect in visual form.

APSDA’s audience understands design craft. The new nameplate had to withstand scrutiny from the very community it represented.

A design association carrying Asia-Pacific leadership needs a wordmark with spine.

The Palette

The refreshed palette treated color as structure, movement, and meaning.

The system retained the chromatic energy of the previous logo and developed it into a more disciplined palette and gradient language. DFT’s presentation described the gradient through direction, union, and spectrum of expression: progression, adaptability, confluence, harmony, creativity, potential, and hope.

This is where the visual language meets the regional story.

Asia-Pacific holds many climates, histories, materials, urban conditions, craft traditions, design schools, professional frameworks, and aesthetic sensibilities. A single flat corporate color would have narrowed the story. Decorative ethnic shorthand would have been too easy and, worse, too pleased with itself.

The gradient allowed APSDA to express plurality with discipline.

It became a visual metaphor for a multicultural design federation: many cultures, many talents, many forms of intelligence, and many design traditions progressing within one shared institutional direction.

The Pattern and Visual Language

DFT extended the system into a geometric pattern derived from the APSDA logo. Formed by connecting four APSDA marks into one composition, the pattern represents harmony and connection among organizations in Asia-Pacific and Oceania.

The resulting visual language gives APSDA a flexible graphic framework for digital, print, environmental, and event applications. It creates order, movement, and connection without smothering the brand in its own cleverness.

The layout system also draws from the angled shapes of the logo, allowing the brand to behave consistently across formats.

A full institution needs a full visual system.

The System

The refreshed APSDA brand expanded into a working institutional architecture.

DFT developed logo lockups, color palette, typography, pattern, layout principles, stationery, business cards, signage, posters, billboards, lamp post banners, website visuals, conference screens, social media templates, conference badges, reports, book covers, promotional merchandise, and branded objects.

The system also included the APSDA Awards identity, extending the main brand into one of the association’s most visible regional platforms.

Another important component was the APSDA Approved Seal, refined as an institutional mark of recognition for selected partners. The presentation shows the seal evolving from the previous version into a clearer and more formal design carrying phrases such as “A Seal of Pride” and “Designated Partner.”

This expanded the brand from visual expression into institutional utility. APSDA gained a mechanism for endorsement, recognition, and partner credibility.

The new APSDA brand needed to serve many roles:

• A federation of design associations.
• A professional development platform.
• An awards body.
• An accreditation ecosystem.
• A partner network.
• A regional advocate.
• A design community.
• A public voice for interior and spatial design in Asia-Pacific.

The system gave APSDA a more coherent way to appear wherever its remit comes into view.

The Rollout

The rollout unfolded through several regional moments, each adding another layer of visibility and adoption.

The work began with discovery and alignment among APSDA leaders and stakeholders, with key strategic work in Kuala Lumpur.

It progressed in Hanoi, where the concepts were presented and approved during the group’s assembly.

It was publicly revealed in Manila during the PIID Gala x APSDA Awards Gala Dinner 2025. APSDA later announced the new logo publicly and credited Design For Tomorrow for crafting the refreshed design, describing it as a reflection of APSDA’s growth, innovation, and commitment to shaping the future of interior design in the Asia-Pacific region.

It entered a broader international industry context in Singapore through FIND Design Fair Asia.

It was then institutionalized in Taipei for internal and external rollout.

Kuala Lumpur. Hanoi. Manila. Singapore. Taipei.

The geography matters. Regional branding became lived practice here, rather than an adjective placed hopefully in a proposal.

The Result

Design For Tomorrow helped APSDA transform a familiar institutional mark into a sharper, more scalable, and more expressive brand system.

The refreshed brand preserved APSDA’s recognizability while resolving issues of legibility, spacing, balance, and visual cohesion. It gave the organization a bespoke wordmark, a clearer symbol, a more vibrant palette, a flexible pattern language, and a complete suite of applications for institutional communication, digital presence, events, awards, partnerships, and public visibility.

More importantly, it gave APSDA a stronger visual expression for its evolving role in the Asia-Pacific design world.

For DFT, the project demonstrated the studio’s ability to work where design, diplomacy, culture, and institutional authority meet.

The assignment required strategy, craft, diplomacy, and cultural intelligence. It asked DFT to work across borders, listen across differences, and translate many voices into one coherent system.

The logo became the visible result of a deeper act of alignment.

Why It Matters

APSDA’s brand evolution speaks to a larger truth about institutional branding.

As organizations grow in influence, their identities must carry memory, authority, ambition, and trust. They must help people understand what the institution has become and where it intends to go.

For APSDA, that meant creating a visual language that could represent the advancement of interior and spatial design across Asia-Pacific. It meant designing a system able to hold national associations, professional standards, regional awards, accreditation initiatives, cultural exchange, partner recognition, and public-facing advocacy.

For Design For Tomorrow, the project called on the studio’s core strengths: brand strategy, identity design, vision articulation, cultural fluency, institutional branding, stakeholder alignment, bespoke typography, and visual systems that can move across markets, sectors, and borders.

A regional institution with many voices needed one sharper signal.

DFT helped draw it.

PROF. KEAT ONG, FSID, APID

President(2023-2025), APSDA
Singapore, International

“I had the privilege of working closely with Ric during the brand evolution of APSDA, and the collaboration was both strategic and deeply meaningful.

Ric possesses a rare ability to listen beyond the brief. He understood that APSDA’s rebrand was not merely a visual refresh, but a repositioning of identity — one that needed to honour its legacy while projecting clarity, relevance, and regional leadership into the future. His sensitivity to institutional history, combined with bold forward-thinking, allowed the transformation to feel authentic rather than cosmetic.

Throughout the process, Ric was thoughtful, rigorous, and highly collaborative. He navigated diverse stakeholder perspectives with maturity and composure, while consistently anchoring the work to a larger vision. What impressed me most was his capacity to translate complex organisational aspirations into a coherent brand language that felt both contemporary and enduring.

The end result has proven significant. The rebrand strengthened APSDA’s presence across Asia, clarified its voice, and reinforced its role as a progressive design body. It was not simply a new look — it was a recalibration of direction.

Ric brings strategic depth, cultural intelligence, and disciplined execution to his work. I would gladly collaborate with him again on any initiative that requires both design clarity and institutional sensitivity.”

IVY ALMARIO

Vice President, APSDA 2023–2025
Philippines, International

“Who would have the audacity to audit, and then the bravado to present, to a roomful of successful creatives, architects, and interior designers from across Asia-Pacific, whose seats at the table were earned through the rigorous and successful practice of their professions?

Only one person comes to mind: Ric Gindap of Design For Tomorrow.

With DFT, process and flair sit cheek by jowl. When Ric and his team put their time, intelligence, and effort toward refreshing and realizing a brand identity, they leave no prisoners. It is a total takeover: respectful, yes, but unmistakably transformative. One feels the ground shifting.

Ric attended several APSDA board meetings across Asian capitals and studied the vision, temperament, and dynamics at play among the member countries. He went back to the drawing board and, voilà, successfully unveiled the new APSDA logo and identity.

He helped bring the organization toward where it has yet to go, and once there, anchored its milestones in an identity we aspired to, but which he imagined first for us.

That is Design For Tomorrow.”

Client Asia-Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA), Prof. Keat Ong (SIDS, President); Emil Chao (CSID); IDr. Ivy Almario (PIID)
Industry Interior Design, Spatial Design, Professional Organization, Built Environment
Discipline Strategy, Branding, Identity Design, Visual Systems, UI/UX Design, Digital Experience
Location Asia-Pacific

Creative & Art Director Ric Gindap, Rashina Tuazon Associate Art Director Patricia Ibañez
Brand Identity and Logo Designer Ric Gindap, Dale Philip Rodriguez
Digital Designer Jose Miguel Lim

Strategy Ma. Julie Therese Amos, Maria Noelle Maulit

Copywriter Dave Riel Española
Account Manager Cessmarie Villones

The post APSDA Brand Identity Evolution appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

Client Spruce Gallery Industry Retail Discipline Branding, Design Location Philippines

Creative Directors Ric Gindap, Bonnapart Galeng Logo Design Ric Gindap Designers Israel Contreras, Dale Philip Rodriguez (Animation) Photography Jar Concengco (Campfire Media), Ennuh Tiu and Sean Olalo

The post Spruce Gallery: A Passion Project for Print, Fully Realized appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

“Our team selected Design For Tomorrow to breathe life into our startup brand because of the sincere enthusiasm displayed by Ric and his team. Among all the design firms we approached, they were the ones who truly understood our concept and genuinely believed in our vision. Working with the DFT team was not only a pleasure but also very productive. They exhibited great responsiveness to feedback and an unwavering commitment to infuse our brand identity into every facet of their work, whether it was crafting captivating visuals or developing our brand’s unique voice. The output of their creative work gave us the confidence that our brand will surely stand out in a fiercely competitive market.”

 

GINO RODRIGUEZ

CEO, Cocopan

Client Cocopan Industry Retail, Food  Discipline Branding, Design, Packaging Location Metro Manila, Philippines

Creative & Art Director Ric Gindap Associate Art Director Rashina Tuazon Brand Identity and Logo Designer Ma. Cecilia Inocencio Retail Design Kervin Pasco Strategy Ma. Julie Therese Amos Copywriter and Tone of Voice ⁨Dave Riel Española⁩ Account Manager Cessmarie Villones

The post Cocopan: Nourishing Community Resilience In Every Bite appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

A Mendrez pop-up retail space soon at SM Megamall by Siglo Interiors

The soon-to-be-launched flagship Mendrez retail space design at SM Cebu by Siglo Interiors

Mendrez in the Press

Adobo | WhenInManila

“We are thrilled to express our gratitude to Design for Tomorrow for their exceptional work in rebranding Mendrez. With a rich heritage dating back to 1969, Mendrez holds a special place in the hearts of our customers, and we entrusted Design for Tomorrow with the task of breathing new life into our brand. From the initial consultation to the final implementation, the team at Design for Tomorrow demonstrated a profound understanding of our brand’s essence and values.

Their creativity and attention to detail were evident in every aspect of the rebranding process. They seamlessly blended modern aesthetics with the timeless charm of Mendrez, resulting in a fresh and captivating identity. The new brand image crafted by Design for Tomorrow has not only revitalized our store’s visual appeal but has also resonated with our customers, old and new. We are genuinely grateful for their expertise, dedication, and the passion they brought to this project. Design for Tomorrow has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping the next chapter of Mendrez, and we wholeheartedly recommend their services to anyone seeking innovative and thoughtful branding solutions.”

 

LIZA & ALIA SAN DIEGO

President & General Manager, Mendrez

Client Mendrez Industry Retail, Footwear, Fashion Discipline Branding, Design, Packaging Location Philippines

Creative and Art Director Ric Gindap Associate Art Director Rashina Tuazon Logo Designers Ma. Cecilia Inocencio, Mikaela Torres Brand Identity Designer Ma. Cecilia Inocencio, Mikaela Torres Strategy Ma. Julie Therese Amos Copywriter Dave Riel Española⁩ Account Manager Michelle Logronio

The post Mendrez: An Elegant Revitalization of a Filipino Heritage Brand for Generation Anywear appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

Client TIMELINE Group of Companies / Ray Jacinto Editor-in-Chief (Issue 01) Ranier Jacinto Editor-in-Chief (Issue 02)

Industry Lifestyle, Fashion, & Retail Discipline Branding, Design, Editorial Location Makati City, Philippines

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Editorial, Creative & Design Director Ric Gindap Associate Creative Director / Art Director Marlon Lacanilao Associate Art Director / Senior Designer Elizabeth Teotico Associate Art Directors / Style & Sittings Editor Bonnapart Galeng Fashion Editor Levenson Rodriguez Designers Ralph Neil Carreon, Mariel Sayuno Copywriters Andrea Hechanova, Samantha Sales Collaborators (Photographers) Lee Santiago, Rxandy Capinpin, Chris Yuhico, Jar Concengco, Edrick Bruel, Joseph Pascual (Makeup Artists) Carl Dana, Anton Padtu, Apple Faraon, MC Villaranda, Karen Hazel Ruiz, Marivic Gonjoran, Raymond Ko, Mich Osmeña, Macy Gutierez (Stylists) Mike De Guzman, George Palmiano, Sheila Marie Danipog, Joel Ven Malazo, Ryuji Shiomitsu, Danila Familara (Food Styling) Kervin Pasco Project Director Roman Roxas Production Officer Joyce Ann Caponpon

The post Curio: High-end Lifestyle Magazine Devoted To Luxury Watches appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

Just Jaq Fit is a Singapore-based coaching brand by Coach Jaq Molloy. This project was realized through close collaboration with our Singapore partner, One Triple Four.

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Client Just Jaq Fit Industry Lifestyle, Wellness Discipline Art Direction, Design, Identity Location Singapore

Creative Director Ric Gindap Art Director Bonnapart Galeng Identity Designer Israel Contreras Animations Dale Philip Rodriguez Creative Associate Grazeel Gindap Collaborators (Portrait) Just Jaq Fit Team Project Director Joan Leong @ One Triple Four

The post Just Jaq Fit: Fitness Brand Marketing appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

Client Alto Design Industry Retail, Lifestyle Discipline Brand expression, Custom Publishing, Art Direction, Design Location Makati City, Philippines

Editorial, Creative & Design Director Ric Gindap Managing Editor Estelle Piencenaves Contributing Features Editor Laarni Jocson Contributing Sittings & Fashion Editor Bonnapart Galeng Art Director Ric Gindap, Marlon Lacanilao Masthead Design Ric Gindap Writers Angelo V. Suarez, Ade Magnaye, Anna Gamboa, Kristine Gonzalez, Wowie Wong, Boogs Rosales, Jayvee Fernandez Photographers & Artists Jar Concengco, Diego Lorenzo Jose, John Taca, Jason Mendoza, Angela Taguiang Stylists & Makeup Artists Leveson Rodriguez, Mike de Guzman, George Palmiano, Fred Penales, Tim Bautista, Carl Dana, Michelle Osmeña, Hilda Llacuna, Elias Aberilla, Raquel R. Arañez, Marilyn Omboy, Lala Nuevaorlanda

The post SLICE Magazine: Custom Publishing appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

Client Ayala Land Premier Industry Real Estate, Property Development Discipline Editorial Consultancy, Strategy, Design, Art Direction, Brand Expression, Branded Content, Production, Custom Publishing Location Philippines

Editorial, Creative & Design Director Ric Gindap Masthead Designer Ric Gindap Executive Editor Bonnapart Galeng Associate Editor Mia De Vega Contributing Editor Jeanilyn Kwan Associate Creative Director Marlon Lacanilao Senior Art Director Elizabeth Teotico Designers Ralph Neil Carreon, Israel Contreras, Shintaro Lopez, Rashina Tuazon, Patricia Ibañez, Ma. Cecilia Inocencio Copywriters Lorenzo Fresnoza, Madelyn Ebro Production Officer Joyce Ann Caponpon

The post Ayala Land Premier: Real Estate Magazine Design appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

Client Viktor Industry Fashion, Retail Discipline Branding, Design, Packaging, Art Direction Location Philippines

Creative Directors Ric Gindap, Marlon Lacanilao Logotype and Brand Designer Marlon Lacanilao Account Director Roman Roxas Forward Planner Lorenzo Fresnoza

The post VIKTOR: Denim Brand Marketing appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.

Client Alchemy Industry Retail Discipline Branding, Design, Packaging Location Philippines

Logo Design Ric Gindap Art Directors Bonnapart Galeng, Elizabeth Teotico Designers Elizabeth Teotico, Mika Torres

The post Alchemy: Pastry Packaging Design appeared first on Design For Tomorrow.