Illuminating the truth, one candle at a time.

History is often confined to textbooks and museums, but what if it could live right where it happened? At Dentsu Creative Philippines, I led the UX/UI design, interaction design, and web development for Bantayog Street Memorials, a geo-based interactive platform that transforms everyday streets into powerful digital tributes to Martial Law heroes. By blending technology and storytelling, we gave Filipinos a way to reconnect with their past—one street at a time.

The installation works through custom street signs placed in locations significant to Martial Law history, each marked with a QR code—but with a twist. The QR codes start as invisible, only revealing themselves when visitors light a candle and let the wax drip over the surface, forming the code. Once scanned, it unlocks the story of a hero who lived, fought, or died in that area, leading users to an immersive website where they can explore historical accounts, archival photos, and interactive content. As the lead UX/UI designer and developer, I designed the UX/UI, user-flow, and interaction design, ensuring an intuitive and engaging experience where users could seamlessly navigate through these untold narratives.

More than just a project, Bantayog Street Memorials is a movement to reclaim and protect historical truth in the digital age. With disinformation and historical revisionism on the rise, this platform ensures that the bravery of Martial Law heroes remains accessible, unfiltered, and impossible to erase. The streets they walked now tell their stories—so the next generation will #neverforget.