PBS Poster Making Contest

I was attending the SPEED Video Seminar in the PCEC Compound when my officemate, Rachalle, informed me of this contest. I’ve never done graphic design in a long, long time so this was both difficult and challenging for me.

 

The Philippine Bible Society needed a new concept for their campaign in 2009 for National Bible Week and an ongoing theme entitled “May They Be One”.

 

The “May They Be One” Bible Campaign is a five-year nationwide program (2009-2013) which aims to put a Bible in every home and encourage Filipinos to read and live the Bible resulting in the transformation of the Philippines.

 

The campaign is PBS’s response to the prayer of Christ for all His children to ‘be one,’ (John 17.21) since unity is vital for making the Word of God accessible, understandable, respected and lived. It is also a call for oneness in individuals, families, and communities resulting in unity among various sectors in working for national transformation.

 

The Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is spearheading the campaign in partnership with the Philippine Bible Society (PBS) and other churches.

 

“May They Be One” is inspired by the World Synod of Bishops in Rome held last Octobers 5 – 26, 2008 which has as its theme, “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, President of CBCP and Walter Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity wrote letters of endorsement for the campaign.

 

With little time left to work on the poster, I tried to think of the best way to express the idea of unity, cooperation and oneness. I came up with putting different types of young people in a matrix and with a guy gesturing the number “one” but also pointing to heaven — the source of all our oneness.

 

I took several days off from work to finish the poster. When I had it printed at Kamera World, I dropped off my sole entry the next day at the PBS office at exactly 11:30 AM — 30 minutes before the deadline.

 

Days later, Hazel Alviz of PBS called me. I knew why. There was only one winner and it was that Promotions Specialist guy from Back to the Bible – Philippines who had a friend named Rachalle. After I picked up the prize money, I gave Rachalle her cut of P1,000.00. I think she bought a dress out of that.

 

There have been many changes in my original entry — you can see it in the images. The final product, after so many revisions, is now used by the PBS for their National Bible Week 2009 calendars, Bible Reading Guides (Tagalog and English) and posters throughout the country.