Following our Fall lecture series on Supporting Linguistic Diversity through Type Design, I sat down with Jad Maza, a type designer from Iloilo, Philippines, who works across both Latin and Baybayin scripts and imagines what type design can look like in a Philippine context. We talked about the ‘itch in his brain’ that drives type exploration, the challenges of pursuing design in the Philippines, and how community is shaping the next generation of Filipino type designers.

Can you tell us about how you first got into graphic design and what led you to type design?

When I was a kid learning how to use computers, I used to just play around with fonts. There was a time when I’d be the person you’d go to if you needed to identify a font. I was that nerdy about it.

In college, I became the layout editor for our campus newspaper, which meant I was constantly working with fonts for our publication layouts. That’s actually what led me to a talk about patriotism through digital art, where the speaker shared his work designing fonts inspired by Jeepney signage. If you’re not familiar with Jeepneys, they’re the Philippines’ most iconic form of public transportation, originally converted from U.S. Army Jeeps during the American occupation, and they’re covered in beautiful hand-painted signs.

It was a lightbulb moment. I realized, Oh, it’s possible to make my own fonts.

A few months later, during my internship, I had a slow day and decided to download FontForge just to experiment. Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly I had time to really focus. That’s when I finished my first font, and that’s how my path shifted from layout design to type design.

Makahiya is a variable font inspired by the sensitive Mimosa pudica plant, translating its playful, reactive nature into Filipino type design.

What’s your process for starting a project? How do you balance designing for expression versus readability?

My first typefaces were really just play—no goals, no expectations. That curiosity still drives how I work today. A lot of my inspiration comes from what’s around me, my environment and my day-to-day experiences here in the Philippines.

Take Makahiya, for example. It’s inspired by the Mimosa pudica, a really common plant here (technically an invasive weed!) whose leaves close when you touch them. At the time, I was curious about variable font technology, so I thought, why not try to translate that behavior into type?

I try to find something familiar in the Filipino context and merge it with something I’m curious about. That tension between the familiar and experimental—that’s the exciting part for me.

I spend a lot of time sketching freely, just drawing and seeing where things go. If an idea sticks, I’ll expand it into a typeface. I used to dedicate my Fridays just to drawing and posting sketches to keep the inspiration flowing. Sometimes, I even dream about typefaces. There was one time I couldn’t sleep because my brain wouldn’t stop thinking about a typeface—I literally woke up and started drawing it. My process is iterative like that. Sometimes the story comes first, sometimes the form does.

Amakan is a typeface patterned after the woven split-bamboo mats used as wall cladding for traditional nipà huts in the Philippines.

In your recent lecture, you mentioned ‘Philippine-inspired Latin type.’ What does that mean to you, and how do you approach creating Latin-based typefaces with Filipino characteristics?

In the Philippines, we widely use the Latin alphabet to write our lingua franca, so we already have a range of Latin letter references adapted to our local context. For me, when I design typefaces, I try to focus on the story behind them. The shapes themselves might not be brand new, but connecting them to local experiences gives them meaning and personality. The inspiration will come and the story will solidify it.

Sometimes the story shows up right away, and I build around that. Other times, I’ll just be sketching until something clicks, like with Balete, my recent release with Blaze Type. That one was inspired by the native Balete tree, which in Philippine folklore is known as the dwelling place of supernatural beings. Its long, twisting roots became a reference for the elongated serifs, especially in the italics, which gave it this slightly creepy aesthetic. I try to be proud of all the hard work I put in! But this one stands out as one I’m excited for.

Balete’s letterforms feature creeping, slender terminals that emerge from the twisting stems, wrought from the illusion of fluid calligraphy without the presence of a single curved line.

Having attended Type West Online and received the Gerard Unger Scholarship Merit award, what advice would you give to emerging type designers?

Opportunities in the Philippines are rare. Design in general, since it’s not considered essential, isn’t really regarded at a high level here. Being able to pursue a creative niche like type design is a privilege, which I’m truly grateful for. My advice is to seek out those opportunities and have the passion to pursue them. Living in this country is another level of challenge, but the persistence will hopefully pay off eventually.

Even post-graduation, balancing a full-time branding job with type work is tricky. I don’t get to sketch every week like I used to, but expanding on my existing typefaces keeps that creative spark alive. Type design is both my stress reliever and my source of stress. It’s the irony of the craft.

Your recent lecture also touched upon the tight-knit Filipino type community. How did you find your people?

I met Jo Malinis (I call her Ate, or older sister Filipino) when she was just starting Type63, a Filipino type design community. There wasn’t a shared space to connect with like-minded Filipino type designers, so she started the Type63 Instagram as a way of featuring typographic talent across the Philippines. Later on, I helped her build the website so we could share resources like type catalogs and create a space where local designers could be showcased.

During the pandemic, everyone was online, which made it easier to meet people and share ideas. Now that we’re finally gathering in person, it’s really inspiring to see how much the community has grown.

Maragsâ is a display typeface inspired by the pakupyâ accent, whose tapered tips heralded the sharp edges, hastily-flowing strokes, and abrupt cuts in the characters, similar to the manner words with the stress should be spoken.​​​​​​​

Diving into your research on Philippine scripts: what are your favorite websites or references?

Well, aside from the site we built for Type63, I probably spend the most time on Unicode pages on Wikipedia. I love diving into Philippine scripts, especially Baybayin. The Unicode proposals are a rabbit hole of pre-colonial writing wisdom, because they show which Baybayin characters should be included, along with histories of the scripts and how they were structured and used. Sometimes they’re hard to understand, but I just have to remind myself: please, ancestors, give us all your knowledge of pre-colonial scripts.

Sadly, a lot of older Filipino-run Baybayin websites are long gone—their domains are just no long being maintained or funded. So, I also find myself using the Wayback Machine often, where I can peek into these lost corners of the internet.

From tinkering with FontForge on a slow internship day to helping build the Filipino type community, Jad’s journey shows how curiosity can bloom into cultural work.

Follow Jad on Instagram @jad.otf and visit Type63.ph to learn more about the growing Filipino type design community. See more of Jad’s work and license his fonts at jadmaza.com.

Interview conducted on October 29, 2025. Edited by Kate Ragosta.