By Trisha Marie L. Abuyan 

The “sipa” inspired logo design of the third year Far Eastern University (FEU) Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Visual Communication student Darryl John Digal will be the new face of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) starting Season 84. 

Amongst over 200 participants, UAAP President Emmanuel Calanog announced last December 17 the winners of the logo contest, topped by Digal. 

Coming in second place was John Dairence Capua who is also a third-year BFA Visual Communication student in FEU. 

According to the league, as written in the submitted description, the logo  symbolizes “our athletic heritage and culture, emphasizing the mission to promote cultural diversity, character development, and athletic excellence.”

Inspired by the traditional sport “sipa,” Digal shared in an interview with FEU Advocate that this sport taught him to be competitive during his childhood days. 

Moreover, it reflects the perception of Digal on the UAAP which is an avenue of student-athletes for character development and experiences exchange. 

Moreover, he sees the league as a character development and exchange of experiences of student-athletes which is reflected in the logo. 

Hearing about the competition, Digal was not interested to join at first until his professor required it as a graded assessment in the subject, Production Technique. 

“My friend, ni-recommend n’ya sa akin na sumali sa contest pero nag-hindi ako… It turned out nakita s’ya [logo contest]  ng professor ko, ginawa siyang plate, ‘yung magiging output ng competition. Napush ako maging competent din ‘dun sa logo [contest] (My friend recommended that I join the contest but I declined… It turned out that my professor saw it [logo contest] and made it as a plat, the output for the competition. It pushed me to become competent in the logo [contest],” he shared. 

The original draft was actually a medal structure, however, after a series of revisions and editing, it ended up with the iconic “sipa” design. 

After 84 years of the league, it is the first time that the league will have a new look and Digal is honored to be part of history. 

“Hindi ako makapaniwala until now… Makikita ko yung logo na ginawa ko na first na papalit sa original logo ng UAAP na tumagal ng 84 years (I cannot believe it until now… I will see that the logo I designed will replace the original logo of the UAAP that lasted 84 years),” he said. 

As his name is already written in history as the game-changer of the UAAP appearance, he is overwhelmed to represent the green-and-gold community in this milestone. 

“Ang pangarap ko lang talaga is makagraduate sa Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), ‘yun lang goal ko nang makapasok ako ng college… Super overwhelming s’ya for me. I hope proud sa akin yung ibang Tamaraws na nakakakita ng logo (My dream is to graduate in the  Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), that is my only goal when I entered college… It was really overwhelming. I hope that Tamaraws that see the logo are proud of me),” Digal mentioned. 

For Digal, the logo does not only represent the UAAP but it also represents his growth as an artist. 

“Before I started small, I started from nothing. Hanggang ngayon unti-unti natuto ako  (Until now, little by little, I started learning) to grow, to know more ideas, to enhance my skills. So parang yun yung nakikita ko sa logo ko … May personal attachment s’ya sa akin (That is what I saw in my logo… It has a personal attachment to me),” the 20-year-old said. 

(Photo courtesy of The UAAP)