PhilWeavers · The Philippine Webdesigners' Network · Weaver Spotlight

Interviewed by Jose Illenberger / Published September 5, 2005

I've realized that a positive attitude is the first step in dealing with adversity. In my case, adversity was caused by disability. I learned this early on. I also learned that we are put in this world to affect each others life. To contribute to society. I wanted to share my positive outlook with others.

Please Introduce yourself.

I'm Juan Magdaraog, Creative Director of Sparkplug Studios, ThisAbility advocate and all around nice guy. Well.... the first two are true as for the third.... that's what my mom says...

How long have you been a web designer and how did u get to be one?

Hmmm... that's a good question. I've been dabbling in web design ever since 1999 but only took it seriously once I started working for iAyala last Sept. 2000. But my responsibilities at iAyala were more of web maintenance rather than design sites from scratch. I only focused on this when I left iAyala and went back to work for Innov8 Inc. after almost 2 years at iAyala.

So technically It's been 6 years.

What is pompe disease? When were you diagnozed with this condition and how did it affect your life?

I'll try to explain this as simple as I can. Pompe's Disease is a genetic disorder caused by a deficiency in the enzyme Acid Maltase. Pompe's is a rare disorder that affects an estimated 10,000 people in the developed world.

If you're interested in finding out more about Pompe's please visit www.pompe.com and www.amda-pompe.org.

When the realization hit you during puberty that you were going to be this way for probably the rest of your life, what did u think/feel/decided then?

Well the progression of my disease was very slow. So I had a lot of time to reflect about it. The disease manifested itself when I was 10 years old and I didn't really understand it all that well for it to bother me at that time. As the years progressed and as I learned more about it and the prognosis I learned to adjust to it better.

Of course there would be times that I'd get depressed especially during the time I wasn't able to walk anymore but I was brought up to be a positive person and was trained early on to look at the bright side of life. I quickly realized that depression can't do anything good for me so I snapped out of it immediately. Up to now, every time I'd get depressed I'd always look to the good things in my life and focus on that.

Tell us more about the term "disability" vis-a-vis "this-ability"

I've realized that a positive attitude is the first step in dealing with adversity. In my case, adversity was caused by disability. I learned this early on. I also learned that we are put in this world to affect each others life. To contribute to society. I wanted to share my positive outlook with others. I knew I had to start with my disability. I wanted to share my view with others that it doesn't mean that if you have a disability you can't lead a productive and meaningful life. Even if your disability is as severe as mine.

One day I was sitting in the bathroom where I do most of my thinking, I coined up the term "Thisability". I said to myself that the word disability was very negative. The prefix "dis" means a negation of something. In this case, an ability. So in order to share my message across I decided to change the way i spell disability. I changed it to "Thisability" which simply means to focus on your abilities. I believe everyone has an ability. No matter who they are. One of the world's smartest person alive today is suffering from a very severe disability and yet he's formulating theories on how the universe came about.

I've then applied this to my life. Instead on dwelling on my disabilities, I focus on my abilities.

Do you think having your condition hampers your creativity in any way? why or why not?

In some ways yes. I mean everything around us affects us one way or the other. There are some things that I want to do but can't because of my condition. For example, photography. I've always wanted to take pictures. Even when I was a kid I'd take pictures. I even got paid by my Aunt. 5 pesos for every photo she liked. I took pictures of her son during parties. These weren't good pictures by pro standards but good enough for a 10 year old boy. As my disability progressed I've had to give up certain things such as photography. So in a way my condition hampers my creativity.

But it's not to say that my condition should stop me from being creative. I just learned to adapt and try to find other ways to express myself. Graphic/web design is one of them. While I can't do other stuff I can still do a lot. I just need to focus on the things I can do and not those that I can't.

Tell us about your first big break and how you got there.

I can say that my first big break was when I got hired by iAyala. I got to meet a great people at iAyala that are still friends and business associates to this day.

I never expected iAyala would hire me but I just gave it a try. The Managing Director was open enough to the idea of hiring a person with disability. When he saw my desire to work and to contribute he decided to give me a chance. He also allowed me to work partly from home.

Tell us more about your experiences with IAyala, Innov8, and Sparkplug studios.

Well iAyala was different from Innov8 and Sparkplug Studios simply because at iAyala I was an employee and had to answer to a boss. At Innov8 and Sparkplug I was and still am a part of the Management team. So in that essence the work environment was different.

As for Innov8 and Sparkplug Studios, i'm faced with a unique challenge as well. Servicing my clients at the same time trying to find ways to grow the business. It's quite hard especially given my limitations. I've been lucky so far. I also feel that currently being an entrepreneur is the ideal situation for me. Since i can dictate my own terms.

Where do you think philippine web design is headed?

I feel that we have a lot of talented Filipino web designers. It's a shame that our local market is very small and provides small compensation for Web Designers. I feel that our profession is under appreciated simply because the Internet penetration of our country is still small compared to other countries.

There's a lot to be done and organizations like Philweavers certainly help in directing our industry. I feel we (web designers) should really come together and professionalize our business. Like what the Advertising professionals did for the Ad industry.

There's definitely a lot of potential for the web industry. Especially in outsourcing or getting work from abroad. We just need to promote our industry better as a whole.

If you were to design a website for a celebrity or a famous personality, who would it be and why and how would you do it?

Hmmm.... Heart Evangelista, Karel Marquez or Pinku Webb.... Why? Do I even need to say why?!?

How would I do it? I like building sites with simplicity in mind. Sure I'm a big fan of Flash and other Multimedia web technologies but at the end of the day these are all technologies used to convey a message. I still believe that the content should come first before the bells and whistles. Depending on what content the celebrity wants to provide then I'd taylor the solution to that. Bottom line I'd make a site that's easy to browse, read and understand.

What is it about webdesign and development that interested you?

Actually I've always liked design and art. I really wanted to become an architect but because of my situation I couldn't pursue that dream. I studied Industrial Design in college but found out that there weren't that much opportunities for Industrial Designers here much less one with a disability. I discovered web design and said to myself that this was something I can do and so I pursued it.

I must admit I never dreamed that I would be a web designer but this profession provides me an avenue to be productive and to express myself artistically.

How do you think the internet and in particular websites changed the lives of people with conditions like yours?

The Internet certainly changed my life and the life of millions of people with disabilities. It opened a whole new world for us wherein disability is not so much an issue as it is in the real world. Web sites also provided us with information which would be otherwise hard for us to access. They provided an avenue for us to learn more, interact with other people better and basically be more productive. We live in a world wherein we have the technology to make the lives of millions of people with disabilities better. I'm certainly lucky to have been born in today's time.

If you were to change anything about the Internet in relation to your situation what would it be and why?

The Internet as it is now is ok for my situation but it's not for other people with different disabilities such as those with visual impairment. I would like to see more and more accessible web sites and web applications so that people with disabilities would have access to the same information as "normal" people do.

If you were not a webdesigner today, what would you be?

That's a tough question. I'd like to be a writer if possible but I'm not quite sure I have the talent for that. If not I'd probably in some business or another. But I'll definitely be productive.

Finally, how does it feel to be an INQcredible Pinoy awardee?

I'm honored with the award/recognition of being one of the first 12 recipients of the INQredible Pinoy award given by INQtv. I'm happy that they chose to recognize ordinary Pinoy's who try to live their lives in an extraordinary manner.