Cebuana Lhullier Gold
2023
Illustration, Packaging
toni potenciano
jayrene cruz
addi panadero
mark andres
Cebuana Lhuillier entered the minted gold market with a clear goal: to make gold more accessible to everyday Filipinos. They asked us to design their first set of flagship bars. They wanted pieces that felt enduring, meaningful, and distinctly Filipino. We drew from heritage and history to create a product designed to serve as modern-day heirlooms.
With over 3500 branches nationwide offering pawning, banking, and other financial services, Cebuana Lhuillier is a trusted name in Filipino households. They approached us to design their first-ever minted gold bar.
How might we design for a modern day Filipino heirloom?
Pre-colonial Filipino goldsmiths practiced intricate techniques, crafting pieces rich in meaning and detail. As early as the 10th to 13th centuries, they produced gold armlets, necklaces, anklets, and ornate jewelry worn by nobility to display status and power
The Iconic Cebuana
We designed the first gold bar as a flagship piece for Cebuana. Inspired by Reyna Juana, also known as Hara Humamay, we reimagined the salakot she famously wore as her crown. Chronicled by Antonio Pigafetta during Magellan’s expedition, her salakot symbolized status and heritage. Today, the salakot remains part of Filipino life, worn by farmers, workers, and everyday people. In this design, it bridges past and present, honoring both legacy and labor.
Reyna Juana is historically described as wearing a large, ornate salakot, crafted from palm leaves and adorned like a crown.
"On her head she wore a large hat of palm leaves in the manner of a parasol, with a crown about it of the same leaves"
Kayamanan ng Ating Lahi
After the success of the Reyna Juana gold bar, Cebuana asked us to create a new design that speaks more broadly to the Filipino spirit. We turned to the richness of our shared values: community, cooperation, and care. We illustrated Filipinos carrying a bahay kubo, a national symbol of bayanihan. The design expresses the kayamanan ng ating lahi, the inner wealth of our soul and spirit as a people, made visible through everyday acts of unity.
The design expresses the kayamanan ng ating lahi, the inner wealth of our soul and spirit as a people.
Cebuana Lhuillier's smallest gold bar weighs just 1 gram, which meant every detail had to work at a tiny scale. We carefully adjusted each line, form, and symbol to make sure the design stayed sharp and meaningful, no matter the size.
A Setting Worthy of the Gold
We designed the packaging to be smart, understated, and precise. Using linework from the gold bar illustrations, we created printed cards finished with subtle gold stamping, allowing the bars to stand out without distraction. This final layer tied the system together, reinforcing a product built with intention: accessible, durable, and made to hold meaning over time.
