We tell the story of Filipino America, chapter by chapter, and gather our community around it.

Positioning line

The Cultural Journal for Filipino America

Where there's room: "The Cultural Journal for Filipino America, in print and in person." In running copy, write "the cultural journal for Filipino America," never "of."

Tagline

Weaving together the stories of Filipino America

No period in logos, lockups, and footers. Add one when the tagline closes a block of copy.

Mission. DIWA tells the story of Filipino America, chapter by chapter: where we came from, who we are today, and where we take our culture next. And it brings our community together around that story.

Vision. To be the cultural home of Filipino America: a journal people collect, gatherings people return to, and in time a festival, a shop, and a foundation that keep our culture alive and moving forward on both sides of the Pacific.

Brand promise. Everything we make is made with care, rooted in community, and worth keeping.

Every chapter, and most stories within it, moves through three parts. It's DIWA's signature structure.

1. Where we came from: a moment in Filipino history, told plainly and with care.
2. Who we are today: how that history lives in our fashion, food, work, and families now.
3. Where we go next: the creators, ideas, and choices shaping what comes after.

The story so far: Prologue (2025) · Chapter I: Islas de los Pintados (April 2027) · Chapter II (October 2027)

Use as written in press releases, bios, and partner materials.

DIWA is an independent, Filipino American–owned cultural journal and gathering place based in Portland, Oregon. Twice a year, DIWA publishes a collectible chapter tracing Filipino history through the lens of who we are today, told through fashion, food, film, and the people shaping our culture. Between chapters, DIWA brings the community together through gatherings, mini zines, The Loom newsletter, DIWA Membership, and The Weft by DIWA.

DIWA's logo suite is built from the mano po emblem, the DIWA wordmark, and the D monogram. Always use the original files, and never redraw, retype, or rearrange a mark.

On light grounds (Parchment, Abaca, Asin, Sampaguita), use Ash of Mayon or a rich color like Heart of Banana or Palawan Waters. On dark grounds (Palawan Waters, Ash of Mayon, Fisherman's Dawn, Bamboo Grove), use Parchment or Asin.

Two-color versions can pair colors like Abaca with Palay Gold or Malong Purple with Bougainvillea, at sizes large enough to read.

Keep space around every mark equal to at least x, the height of the capital D in the wordmark. Nothing, including text, images, and other logos, goes inside that space.

Never set a mark smaller than these widths. When a space is too small for one mark, step down to the next.

DIWA works alongside businesses, organizations, and other Filipino American media. When our logo sits next to a partner's, place them side by side with a 1 pt vertical line between them, in Ash of Mayon on light backgrounds or Parchment on dark ones. Keep the clear space on both sides of the line.

Co-branded pieces can follow DIWA's look, the partner's, or a look made for the project, but they shouldn't mix brand elements outside the logo lockup. Every partnership is clearly labeled, for example "In partnership with" or "Presented by."

Send co-branded work to hoy@diwamag.co for review before it goes out.

The palette takes its names from the Philippine landscape, its crafts, and its materials: volcanic ash, abaca, the malong, bamboo, palay, and the sea off Palawan. Parchment and Ash of Mayon do most of the work, and Heart of Banana is the primary color.

When you set text or icons on a solid color, stick to these pairings. Text needs a contrast of 4.5:1 or higher; large text (24 px and up), logos, and graphics need 3:1.

• Don't set bright accents or Sawali Tan as text on Parchment. None of them are readable there.
• Don't use Palawan Waters and Heart of Banana together for text. They're too close in brightness (1.5:1) and the type blurs.
• Don't flood a page with color. Use Heart of Banana for a headline, a button, or one panel, then let Parchment do the rest.
• Don't add colors outside the palette, including gradients and tints, without checking with DIWA first.

Crimson carries the feel of an old book without looking dusty. Use SemiBold for headlines and Italic for subheads and pull quotes.

Book Sans does the everyday work: body copy, buttons, menus, captions, and labels. Its plain shapes let the serif headlines lead.

• Headlines in title case, body text in sentence case.
• Use italics sparingly, and never for Filipino words. They're part of our language, not foreign terms.
• Keep diacritics: Filipiñana, Filipiniana, Parañaque.
• Left-align body copy. Center only short lines, like a quote or a button.
• Give type room. Fewer words per screen, slide, or page, with generous space around them.

When the brand fonts aren't available, like in email clients, Google Docs, or a partner's template, use Georgia for headlines and Arial for body copy.

• Filipino American, with no hyphen, as noun and adjective.
• Spell out Filipino American History Month before using FAHM.
• Oxford comma, always: fashion, food, and film.
• Dates in full: October 25, 2026. "Oct 25" only in tight spaces.
• Spell out one through nine; numerals for 10 and up, money, and percentages.
• "Filipino" by default. When people describe themselves as Pilipino, Pinoy, Pinay, or Filipinx, use their words.

• Natural light, real places, and people photographed as themselves, never staged as costume.
• Fashion editorials talk with each chapter's history and setting without romanticizing the past.
• Styling mixes high and low: luxury pieces, pre-loved finds, military references, Spanish regalia, and Filipino wear, seen through today's lens.
• Gatherings are shot candid and close, with the food, the room, and the people in it.

Credit every photographer, stylist, designer, and maker, every time. Get a signed release from everyone photographed, and tell people's stories with their consent and in their own words.

Each chapter is a collectible bookazine: a Parchment cover, Heart of Banana type, and gold-leaf details, with the restraint of a book you'd keep on the shelf.

Emails use a Parchment background, the Woven Star at the top, Crimson headlines, and Heart of Banana buttons. They come from Kyle and read like a note from a friend.

Short, confident lines over strong photography. Highlights use the crimson-on-parchment icon set.

Signage, menus, and screens follow the same restraint: Parchment grounds, fine rules, and one strong headline. Partners are credited by name.