Expert moves to help creative industry grow

CEBU needs to prop up its visual design industry.

John Henry Delfino, founder of the school Draft Academy of Design, made this call as he worked to train more skilled visual artists and designers to help the industry grow further.

Delfino, who also runs an advertising agency, said that some existing designers and artists still lacked the skills needed in creating visual arts products that could compete in the global playing field.

While Cebu has been named as the country’s creative capital by the British Council years ago with its thriving creative industries, Delfino said Cebu would need to do more for the sector to grow.

This was one of the reasons that he opened the Draft Academy School of Design where he said he could contribute to the growth of the industry.

“In visual design category, particularly in visual design and arts, kulang pa siya gamay (it still needs improvement). I set up the school in the frustration that I cannot find a good graphic or visual design school,” Delfino told reporters during a press conference yesterday.

“For me, there is a need in that aspect most especially in conceptualizing for a brand, for global advertising. There’s a gap between employers and the practitioners,” he added.

He said his school, the Draft Academy along J. Osmeña Street, Cebu City, however, would help the creative digital artist to learn more through intensive workshops on graphic design, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator spread throughout the year.

He is, however, still working on their programs to be be accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and on partnering with schools and universities for their programs to be incorporated in the senior high school curriculum.

Aside from that, he said he wanted to add more value on the skills and talents of visual artists and designers as well as erase existing notions that practitioners of this field are “cheap” and their skills unimportant.

“Ilahang pagtan-aw sa graphic designer is cheap (They look down on graphic designers). I don’t want that to happen. They invested in their education, time and training and then mao ra na ang (they only get that) perception. We are trying to correct that norm. We want to put more value on the students,” Delfino clarified.