Written by Cathrin Samijtiwong
Edited by Ms. Gerrilyn Cadiz, Lecturer, MMA Program

May 26, 2005

Sir Jun (Bernardo) is one of my top favorite teachers. There’s always that sincerity in his eyes and voice whenever he’s talking to us, may it be during classes or even when we bump into him in the corridors. He has tirelessly and patiently pushed us to greater heights despite our misgivings.

That is why I felt so privileged to have a chance to sit down with him and discuss his thoughts and insights on a life well spent in his chosen field of Industrial Design.

He described his student years in CSB as one of “the best” compared to what he experienced in other schools. He lauded CSB’s teaching method and style that is far from the traditional techniques of other institutions.

“This may sound baduy, but this is a school that actually cares,” he shared, pointing out that his teachers then (which included professors Rosemarie Bautista, Zeny Manlapig, Susan Abrerra, Veronica Solano, Mar Ramirez, Hipolito Peralta, Ramiro Nolasco, Rino Datuin, Manolet Garcia, Larry Carandang, Ronnie Millevo and Gil Agoylo), the school administrators, and their staff attended to his needs more than their counterparts in the other schools did. He even dared me to look for a nakasimangot SDA(School of Design and Arts) person.

It was this sense of caring that inspired him to pursue a teaching career in CSB right after graduating in 1995. “It was a matter of giving something back to CSB,” he said.

The first subjects that he handled were DESPRN2 and BASECAD. These were followed by DESPRN1, ERGONOM, PACKAGE, DESIGN2 and RESTECH. According to him, he found teaching DESPRN more enjoyable, albeit challenging. He now has a huge collection of exceptional works by his students which he never fails to show to the new batches.

Sir Jun pointed out that the ID program has evolved through the years, making it more responsive to industry requirements. Thanks to frequent curriculum changes, we students are guaranteed of a program that is in sync with the changes and trends in such a dynamic industry.

For one, the LRC (Learning Resource Center) has more quality books related to the field which the students have easy access to. Sir Jun believed that his bosses, Dean Gerard Torres, Mrs. Bautista, Mr. Manny Dacanay and Aldo Peralta, the academic council and his colleagues did an excellent job in putting us at par or even better than other schools offering Industrial Design.

However, he still feels that the students were more focused back then. Imagine a time when access to the Internet was virtually nil, and one-way pagers were in. They had more time to do their projects and papers. On the other hand, today’s students are better equipped and can quickly produce better outputs -- if they can only maximize their time, and the resources made available to them.

One of his closest batch mates, Oliver Kuy, is now an art director in Manila Bulletin and several magazines. Two of his very good students were Cherry Kho and Stuart Yang. Cherry now specializes in identity design and exhibition systems. Stuart is into the production of really big signages, and teaches in ID also. He can’t forget the time when Cherry was doing a very detailed 3D wire model of a turtle with hands full of blisters. They bumped into each other last week in a trade fair, and he got a peak into her portfolio. He admitted to being so impressed with her works [which we will feature in the next issue]. Though he hardly gets to see his former students, he hopes that they are a much better industrial designer than he is. For if not, then he must have failed as a teacher.

ID covers a lot of areas. It is a cross between mechanical engineering and visual arts. “It is about making gadgets or machines that are user-friendly and beautiful (pronounced with an Italian accent!) with the main purpose of making the user more effective or efficient,” he explained.

So what makes a good industrial designer successful?

“What we do here is equip our students with the skills and technical know-how. Now, take that with our students’ good business networks---from dad’s business partners to ma’s amigas and bro’s friends, the clients are already there. But I believe that success is determined by the person’s skill to compete, his attitude to win and learn more and if he knows how to maximize the resources available to him to be both effective and efficient, then success wouldn’t be too hard to achieve.”

What would his advice be for the incoming batch?
“Always carry a sketch pad and a cheap digital camera.”

And for the graduating?

“CARRY A BIGGER SKECTH PAD!”