Mischief Making Mondays

After I left my job at Warner Music Philippines (managing the international label and overseeing marketing and album launches of artists like Madonna, P. Diddy, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Regina Spektor, and the likes),?I was fortunate enough to find a supportive investor who encouraged me to do anything I wanted creatively.?

Seizing the opportunity to have the freedom to work on a passion project, I immediately assembled a team to realize Monday Magazine, which has simmered at my brains' back-burner for many years. I wanted to go back to my first love: publication art direction and design. So from 2009-2011,?I edited, art directed, and designed every issue with the able support, help, and talent of a ragtag band of gifted optimists raring to do something different.?

The magazine broke barriers locally by introducing bold, provocative covers (almost all of those will never see the light of day in a highly-political climate). Every issue centered on a single theme, and we narrowed our editorial mix on corporate culture, consumerism, and lifestyle.?

It was a wild, exhilarating ride. Being independent, we were not tethered to the editorial intrusions of powerful advertisers, and we can say no to things that we do not like. We did not censor outré concepts and intriguing stories that flirted on the brinkmanship of The Philippines' conservative publishing landscape. We championed the undiscovered, the underrated talents, and made many fast friends along the way.?

Rediscovering this image on the?Design For Tomorrow?website today struck me how much we could get away with and made me marvel at how we published things we strongly disagree with to push a conversation that challenged our passionately-held views.?

I am dreaming, with the right visionary partner, we can do this again.?

The world is getting too lame, too afraid to offend.

Which makes it ripe for a kind of provocative brand to shake things up and make us all realize what we are losing when nothing ever challenges us.