MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Stop and look around. Design isn’t just on your screen; it’s woven into the very fabric of our lives — on the streets, towering on buildings, on billboards. But to truly appreciate its power, we must look through the lens of a design veteran, someone who shaped the industry decades ago, back when creation was strictly non-digital.
On December 2, 2025, the Communication Design Association of the Philippines (CDAP), in partnership with adobo Magazine, hosted Leading by Design, a talk and intimate afternoon session with one of the graphic design industry’s celebrated legends, Lucille Tenazas.
The Gallery at the Astbury in Poblacion, Makati City was filled with designers and creatives — both young and professional — who came to the event with one goal in mind: to listen to unforgettable stories and gain lessons from Lucille.
Finding her voice in a different country
Lucille grew up in Manila, but when she was in her mid-20s, things didn’t fully align with what she was expecting, so she decided to leave the country and go to the United States.
“When I arrived in the United States — first in San Francisco — I wondered what I could possibly offer as someone older than the typical student and who had never lived in the U.S. before. Over time, I realized I did have something to offer,” Lucille told the quiet crowd, who was all ears in anticipation of the next part of the story.
Lucille indeed has something to offer, and it’s something innate in her since she was a kid: her knack for design.
The early lesson: Rhythm and pacing
Although her father wanted her to pursue a different career path, he was supportive of her and let her join poster-making contests. This eventually led to her artwork being featured in a magazine that he proudly showed off to his friends at church.
In an exclusive interview with adobo Magazine, Lucille recalled a personal project she did as a freshman in high school in 1968 called “Slum Book.” At the time, everything was non-digital and made by hand. Later on, she realized that the design work she had been doing since she was 15 years old was just a glimpse of the career path she would be taking on later in life.
“Working on a multipage document — a book, a brochure — has to do with rhythm and pacing. That was an early lesson. My classmate probably just thought, ‘She’s a good artist, let her do the cover and chapter openings,’ but looking back, there was an aesthetic sensibility throughout the whole book,” she said.
Lucille noted that she learned about design systems, grid systems, and typographic hierarchy, even though she didn’t know the terminologies. This knowledge served her well as she evolved as a designer.
When Lucille started school in San Francisco, things weren’t easy at first. She was always late for class because she kept taking the wrong bus, which ended up going in the opposite direction.
Whenever she was in class, she would quietly sit at the back, working on her project, and her teacher would always reach her last. Eventually, her teacher kept returning to her desk more frequently and asked her classmates to look at her work.
“I critiqued her work yesterday. She listened to my comments, but she also listened to herself. She built on my feedback and brought back something that is hers,” her teacher said.
That moment cemented Lucille’s confidence; she realized that she could trust her way of thinking as she listened to her educators, and the reciprocal feedback was credit to how she was shaped.
The myth of the 65 interviews
The hurdles didn’t stop there. After Lucille graduated, it took 65 interviews before someone finally hired her.
“I kept a diary of every interview. A myth started circulating in studios. People would say: ‘I’m your 45th,’ or ‘You’re up to 50 by now, right?’” She added, “My tenacity became a story, and it worked — doors eventually opened.”
She also told adobo Magazine that the true test outside school is the belief in oneself, which is why those interviews happened; it was because she had a unique point of view.
“I’ve been doing this for 40 years; I know when I’ve exhausted possibilities. My students are just launching — develop that voice, be open-minded, listen, synthesize. Your voice becomes unique because it comes straight from you,” she said.
A legacy of relevance and longevity
Lucille eventually became the first-ever Henry Wolf Professor at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, which was named after Henry Wolf, an Austrian-American designer considered to be the grandfather of American publication design.
In addition to being an educator, she also became the president of the AIGA national board and was awarded the AIGA Medal in 2013, one of the highest recognitions in American design.
Decades after graduating, doing graphic design, and enjoying life, Lucille still holds onto her mantra: relevance and longevity. The hurdles she faced — being late for class, the myth of her 65 interviews — were simply proving grounds for her unique perspective.
She realized that the true test of a creative professional is not the job offer itself, but the belief in oneself. For designers today, Lucille’s career is a profound reminder: Success is built on the twin pillars of tenacious self-trust and the relentless pursuit of work that matters, ensuring its relevance and longevity in a fleeting world.
As I wrapped up my interview with Lucille, curiosity dawned on me, so I asked her what her favorite color is.
“Chartreuse,” she answered, which I think is fitting of how bright and unique her life became.
