CREATELab to offer targeted design solutions at Manila FAME

Design clinic CREATELab returns to Manila FAME, this time with a sharper focus on addressing the biggest friction points that companies in the country's design and manufacturing industries face. The 74th edition of the country’s flagship export trade show for everything home, fashion, and lifestyle runs from Oct. 15 to 17 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

A creative solutions program organized by the Center for International Trade Exposition and Mission’s CREATEPhilippines, in partnership with the Communication Design Association of the Philippines (CDAP), CREATELab aims to guide local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in leveraging design to expand their businesses and enter the export market. By matching enterprises with experts whose experiences and portfolios align with their respective branding design needs, local businesses can refine their branding and marketing strategies for more effective results. CREATELab first set up at Manila FAME in 2025.

Of course, with the companies participating in Manila FAME no strangers to design themselves, CREATELab aims to zero in on specific issues they run into. Based on the clinic’s launch at last year’s trade show and the predominant inquiries posed by the MSMEs who availed of CREATELab’s services, the following are the areas that CREATELab experts can advise entrepreneurs on, with a focus on converting artistic identity into high-converting digital formats: 

UI/UX design and digital storefront

Companies looking to build or strengthen their online presence need an engaging user interface (UI) design that can foster an enjoyable user experience (UX) and ensure repeated site visits and purchases. This especially applies when they want to put up a digital storefront that serves as an online store and sales clerk in one. 

Beyond helping local MSMEs refine their ideas on how their websites will look, CREATELab experts will guide them on how to make their sites highly navigable, accessible, and responsive, no matter the screen a user accesses them on. 

From browsing products and submitting buyer inquiries to fixing layout friction and mobile browsing issues and reducing website load times, MSMEs can receive sound advice on how to make all these easier for existing and potential customers.

Content strategy and digital storytelling

It’s easy for companies to claim certain brand values, but for their target markets to believe them, nothing beats a cohesive and consistent narrative. 

Businesses can leverage the attention-grabbing appeal of short-form videos and the wide reach of social media by learning the intricacies of content strategy and digital storytelling. How can a company highlight its brand heritage online? How can it create a brand narrative that pays proper tribute to its artisans? And how can it develop its buyer campaigns so that business leads get converted into sales after a trade show? 

CREATELab experts can walk entrepreneurs through the fundamentals of building a video and social media strategy, the intricacies of export storytelling and copywriting, and the importance of preparing buyer media kits and follow-up campaigns. 

Branding and visual identity

Buyers in the export market have very specific requirements that every business looking to expand internationally must know. 

MSMEs can learn how to set themselves apart in the highly competitive global market with the help of CREATELab. The on-site clinic’s selection of designers and creative directors can guide them in refining their brand identity and aesthetic to appeal to modern international buyers so that every brand asset—from logo, color palette, and typography to packaging, marketing collateral, and all physical and digital touchpoints—remains consistent in meeting global market standards. 

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Want to get expert guidance on how to design your manufacturing business to scale better? Register here to schedule your CREATELab consultation at Manila FAME. 

Manila FAME: Bloom 2026 happens from Oct. 15 to 17, 2026 at the World Trade Center Pasay City.