MANILA, PHILIPPINES – For aspiring creatives everywhere, few honors are as coveted as the title of All Star at Portfolio Night. This year, that star is Louise Pearce, whose drive, vision, and dedication have not only brought her personal fulfillment, but have also put Manila on the world stage.
Representing Meridian International College – MINT College, Louise has been named the All-Star Winner of Portfolio Night Manila 2025, earning her a place among the country’s brightest creative disruptors.
The event, which was held on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at the Ayala Museum in Makati City, by The One Club for Creativity and led by adobo Magazine, was widely regarded as the world’s largest advertising portfolio review program. This high-energy event takes place in dozens of cities simultaneously, offering aspiring creatives essential advice, networking, and recruitment opportunities.
Likewise, the event also functions as a crucial gateway for young talent to break into the industry or find a new role, by connecting them with hundreds of renowned international creative directors who act as mentors to the next generation of industry leaders.
As this year’s Manila All-Star Winner, Louise will be joining other young creatives all around the world. They will be grouped into global teams and tasked with developing a campaign for a real-world brief provided by the exclusive global sponsor, Google.
Throughout the week, All-Stars participate in special seminars and recruiting sessions. The program culminates with each team pitching their campaign to a panel that includes Google representatives. The Grand Prize-winning All-Stars team receives an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to attend The One Club for Creativity’s Creative Week 2026.
“What made this year’s All-Star winner stand out from the rest is the competition mindset that this person has. Louise has that competition mindset in her work. Obviously, she is built for competition,” Propel Manila Executive Creative Director Jao Bautista said in an interview with adobo Magazine.
He added, “If the All-Star Winner will be competing at a global scale, the way she did her portfolio, presented her ideas, and showed us her work, it’s very competition-ready. It’s so great to have representation from Manila to compete internationally.”
The night also awarded Yohanna Elyse Mendoza of De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde as First Runner up, and Bianca Francesca L. Delos Santos of iAcademy as the Second runner up.
An unexpected triumph
Portfolio Night Manila, an annual, fast-paced portfolio review, connects aspiring young creatives with the industry’s top professionals. To be named the Manila All-Star means Louise’s work was judged as the single best portfolio among a highly competitive field, earning her the right to represent the Philippines on the global stage.
Despite the confidence Louise’s work exuded, the win itself was a surprise.
“It was really unexpected. For a second, I didn’t process it because, being in a room full of creatives, you see glimpses of their work, and it’s already so impressive. I feel like, as an artist, it’s easy to see the beauty in others. You tend to think, ‘Wow, everyone here is so good; how am I going to do this?’ But in the end, it was a shock, but a very pleasant one,” she told adobo Magazine.
Likewise, for the 21-year-old young creative, the All-Star recognition is more than a trophy; it’s a vital validation at a critical early stage in her creative journey.
“I’m at a very young stage of my creative journey, so an opportunity like this is a very big thing. I’m just getting my footing. So being in a room full of very established creatives in our industry is a big deal to someone like me who’s starting off,” she underscored.
During the rigorous, one-on-one sessions, Louise presented “Pearcefolio,” a collection of her selected work that focuses on experiential projects. It comprises heavily featured film and music events such as “Película > Pelikula”, “International Silent Film Festival Manila”, “Praise the Loud”, and “Fathers of Circumstances.”
“Each of these projects has a central theme explored, such as perspectives, contradictions, devotion, and silhouette,” she shared with adobo Magazine.
“In true multimedia fashion, this portfolio explores a range of outputs: from digital ads, to printed magazines and booklets, to product packaging design, and even handprinted merchandise, as seen in the projects ‘Sweet Stop,’ and ‘Deep in the Drawers,’” she continued.
Ultimately, Louise received advice that fundamentally shifted her focus. Asked about the piece of advice that struck her the most, she shared, “While looking through my portfolio, they said, ‘Oh, I really like this. I really like this project, that project.’ But then they asked me, ‘But I want to see you,’ ‘I want to see the person behind the portfolio.’ So I think that kind of made me pause and reel back for a second and think of me as a creative [person] before my client list and before my project.”
The road to all-Star: Preparation and mentorship
Louise’s winning portfolio was not built overnight; it was the result of a deliberate, long-term process fueled by passion and discipline, highlighting that success was less about a frantic sprint and more about sustained effort.
This rigorous preparation involved continuously refining existing projects and proactively creating new pieces specifically designed to showcase her versatility and conceptual strength to the judges.
“So this has been in preparation for a long time already, like collecting my works, polishing it [and] creating new things to expand my work. So it’s been a couple months working on it already,” she underscored.
Crucially, Louise credited her educational environment at MINT College for providing the necessary foundation and continuous guidance. She emphasized the invaluable role of her university mentors.
“I’m very grateful to have mentors from my university. They have really good insight, and they always think about the story with portfolios. [For me] it’s always about the story. That’s what was instilled in my head. When I was creating my work, I was thinking about how to tell a story,” she noted.
Looking ahead
The All-Star title is an invitation to a week-long global competition, challenging Louise to collaborate on a real-world brief with winners from around the world. As she stands on the precipice of this global opportunity, Louise is keeping her future wide open.
Asked what she is excited to explore and how this win will impact her future in advertising or design, Louise said that she is opening her door for any sorts of opportunities within the creative industry.
“Right now I’m keeping my books open. I feel like I’ve already done a lot of projects I very much enjoyed, and I’ve already been fulfilled with my body of work so far. So right now, I don’t know exactly what my next work is gonna look like, so I’m keeping myself really open to all sorts of possibilities in advertising and design,” she said.
