The main advice Leonardo C. Rosete gave at his legacy lecture was “Pursue your interest/s with passion.” Through his lecture, DOI’s Industrial Design Brief Quest for the Industrial Design Path, Rosete shared his life, experiences, and insights regarding industrial design (ID) that began during his student days at the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Fine Arts (CFA) as a visual communication major.

The former CFA dean said, “Kung napipilitan ka lang [sa ginagawa mo], hindi rin magwo-work. Garbage in, garbage out.”

Rosete encouraged the audience to look at ID from various perspectives and through the lenses of a designer, design educator, consultant, administrator, and oneself.

“[The] ID is an expansive area of discipline dealing with tangible and intangible items,” he said. “The discipline is only starting to take off in the country,” Rosete added.

He emphasized that machines and technology are vital components, but advised that when it comes to artificial intelligence, people should first gain more understanding on how to deal with it.

Rosete also advised the audience to look for opportunities for the use of ID, as well as for showing their talents and skills. He underscored the need to focus on enriching Filipino design and solving problems using Filipino materials.

Rosete asked, “If you can’t present uniquely Filipino, how can you present yourself as Filipino in the international arena?”

Rosete began his academic career at UPD in 1987 as a lecturer at the CFA, teaching major subjects in industrial design, package design, and systems design. By 1993, Rosete was an instructor at the CFA and rose through the ranks to become a professor of ID. Having retired this year, he now teaches as a professorial lecturer at the college. Rosete served as the CFA dean from 2012 to 2019.

During his deanship, the CFA restructured the college’s curriculum; the FabLab (fabrication laboratory) was established in 2017; and the Arts and Design West Hall (ADWH), a space for conventions and exhibits, was inaugurated in 2018.

According to Rosete, his choice to study fine arts at UPD in 1974 was influenced by the events of 1970s Philippines. 

“The country was under martial law. The streets were alive with activism. There was the Vietnam War. The hippie culture in the UPD campus influenced the lifestyle during those years,” Rosete said. “Sa probinsiya, sinasabi na wala namang pera sa fine arts. Ang alam lang nilang trabaho ay engineer, doktor, arkitekto, o pari,” he recalled.

Before his graduation in 1979 with a degree in visual communication, Rosete had a brief stint at the Ace Compton Advertising Agency, which had clients such as Camay and Pepsi.

“Gumagawa kami ng big-scale size model ng mga produkto na pi-picture-an, imbes na picture-an ang maliit na mga produkto kasi sasabog sa picture o iyong tinatawag nating magpi-pixelate,” he told the audience.

From 1979 to 1987, Rosete was with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). He was with the DTI Design Center of the Philippines (DCP) in 1979, where he had the chance to work with National Artist for Visual Arts, Arturo Luz, and Alfonso de Lange II, considered the Philippines’ first industrial designer. Luz was then the DCP director. It was Luz who taught Rosete that design emphasis should be on material integrity, clarity of purpose, and freshness.

Later on, the DCP worked with the Center for International Trade, Expositions, and Missions (CITEM), where Rosete served as CITEM exhibitions unit head in 1985. His position at CITEM exposed him to Philippine exhibitions in other countries.

In 1987, Rosete joined the Philippine Trade Training Center and served as its senior faculty for visual merchandising until 1993.

Rosete also worked for Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc., Commission on Information and Communications Technology, The Mind Museum, and Asian Institute of Maritime Studies – Museo Maritimo.

Honored by peers. On 12 May 2022, the UP Artists Circle Fraternity and Sorority Alumni Association honored Rosete for his valuable contributions to the discipline, the college, and the university, and his “academic excellence, leadership, and contributions to the fields of arts and design.”

He received the award from Professor Emeritus of CFA Benjamin Cabangis during the lecture on June 29 at the ADWH. The lecture coincided with the celebration of World Industrial Design Day.