How to Pursue a Career as a Filipino Creative, According to Preview's EIC

Last June 27, 2026, SoFA Design Institute invited students and aspiring creatives to join Design Dialogues, a conversation meant to inspire the future of Filipino fashion and design. On the panel are esteemed professionals from different sectors of the creative industry, including Fashion Designer Lev Rodriguez, Interior Designer Iris Ocampo, and Preview's Editor-in-Chief Marj Ramos-Clemente.

Together, they talked about how they kickstarted their careers, their creative practices, and the realities of being a Filipino creative. For aspiring journalists and writers, it might seem like a daunting field, especially in an era where everyone can claim to write just by inputting a prompt through an artificial intelligence tool. But take it from Marj, you have all the means to thrive all on your own, as long as you let your natural talent, grit, and passion lead the way.

Read more about the EIC's tips to make it in the Filipino creative industry below.

You’re allowed to explore anything you take an interest in, no matter your age. After all, the trick to finding your passion is to just keep moving when you realize that something isn’t for you. This was true for Marj herself, who shared at the start of the talk that she was actually an Economics major before making a pivot to fashion and journalism.

“Don’t try to figure everything out in your twenties because your career doesn’t have to be based on that one big decision,” she told the audience. “Usually the best of careers, they’re a product of a hundred small ones. There really is no one-way street for everybody. You owe it to yourself to explore and to listen to that gut feeling, to figure out what's best for you."

Marj advises against solely trying to stand out. Creatives should work to develop their own point of view, not to stick out in a crowd, but to offer a perspective that other people can relate to. “You just have to focus on your own path, and usually when you do that you figure out your own identity and your own point of view,” she said.

“There can be a hundred different talented designers, but among those designers you gravitate to a specific one because you resonate with their POV. It’s usually your own style and your own signature that makes you different. It’s not really about how to stand out, it’s about how to be uniquely yourself.”

The ways in which people consume art have constantly evolved over the years. Where we used to have radios or iPods, now most of us listen to music through Spotify. While print is still a cherished medium, there’s no denying that a big chunk of today’s readers access their news on social media. In an ever-changing media landscape, creatives must learn to adapt, reinvent, and meet their audiences where they are. Marj explained, “It's the platform that will come and go, but the art form should live.”

She elaborated that these days, some journalists and editors have had to move to video and reels to deliver their pieces, especially now that video is king. “When I started 15 years ago, this wasn't on my resume, it wasn't part of my skillset to go on video because I was super introverted also when I started. Now you have to be digital savvy, you have to learn everything. You have to be armed with the right skills to reach your audience however way that does the job.”

They say good things take time, but they also take a village. More often than not, creative work requires collaboration. Marj illustrated that one cover photo doesn’t just happen with the personality looking pretty or the photographer taking the shot. It’s the result of dozens of people equipped with their own talent, working together in harmony.

“Make or break talaga if there's one or two of you who are not aligned. So it's always important that we are on the same page,” said Marj. “That’s one thing we don’t acknowledge a lot of the time. Usually you just see the cover star, glammed up and perfectly photographed, but the many people behind that cover is usually what constitutes that one photograph. A lot of people worked tirelessly behind it."

Marj reminded the audience to stick to their values no matter where success takes them, because that's what will take you far, not just when it comes to your individual achievements, but with relationships as well. “It’s really character over skill. When we choose the people that we work with, that’s what we tend to look at all the time,” Preview’s EIC revealed.

“Your skill sets will get your foot in the door, that’s what will get you noticed, but what will bring longevity to your career is your character.” In short, rapport building is just as important as writing well or being the best designer for the job. Marj continued, “Do people want to work with you? What do they say about you when you’re not in the room? I think that’s what’s most important about being a creative because we work with a lot of people. You cannot survive in this industry by yourself.”