Design Week Philippines 2025 drew to a close on Saturday, October 18, transforming Makati’s Ayala Triangle Gardens into a vibrant sanctuary for creativity, reflection, and shared well-being. The final day invited visitors to slow down, make with meaning, and connect through care—an embodiment of the festival’s guiding theme, “Towards Ginhawa.”

The Design Sari-Sari fair, inspired by the beloved neighborhood store, became the heart of the finale. It showcased an eclectic mix of crafts, handmade goods, and design-driven products that captured the diversity of Filipino creativity. Every stall told a story—of artisans reclaiming traditions, young designers blending technology and heritage, and communities rediscovering comfort through craft. The event also featured live performances, workshops, and talks that encouraged reflection on the role of design in everyday life.

Among the day’s highlights was Tambuli: A Soundwalk Experience, which transformed the Ayala Triangle Gardens into an auditory map of the city. Through layers of ambient soundscapes, field recordings, and traditional motifs, Tambuli invited guests to listen closely—to the rustle of leaves, distant laughter, and faint hum of city life—and rediscover the urban landscape as a living, breathing organism. Anchored in the spirit of ginhawa—ease, breath, and balance—it offered a moment of calm amid the city’s pulse, blurring the boundaries between design, nature, and emotion.

The focus on design and well-being carried through the week. Conversations explored themes of value, fairness, and purpose, from discussions on intellectual property and fair pay to dialogues on cultivating workplaces rooted in empathy. Each session reinforced the idea that design is not only about form but about fostering better ways of living and working.

Organized by the Design Center of the Philippines under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the week-long festival ran from October 11 to 18. The opening ceremony at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater at Ayala Malls Circuit in Makati City set the tone for a celebration of design as both an art form and a catalyst for change.

DTI Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque underscored this vision in her keynote remarks: “Ginhawa is more than just comfort; it is also a state of well-being, dignity, and shared progress. It is our Filipino interpretation of what the world now calls the transformation economy, where value is measured not just in profit, but in purpose, where innovation leads directly to better lives for all,” she said.

From the opening sessions that delved into creativity and care to the culminating showcase of crafts and community, the festival traced a full circle of inspiration. Over eight days, Design Week Philippines gathered 139 partner organizations, creative hubs, and MSMEs across 29 cities and 16 regions. From Baguio to Tawi-Tawi, each hub interpreted ginhawa in its own local context—through exhibits, design talks, and collaborative experiences that reflected the country’s boundless creative spirit.

As Design Week Philippines 2025 concluded, it marked another milestone in the country’s growing design movement—one that continues to champion creativity as a force for inclusion, sustainability, and well-being. In the language of design, ginhawa endures as both inspiration and aspiration, a reminder that good design begins—and belongs—with the people it seeks to uplift.