Born on February 22, 1955, Filipino writer and illustrator Charles Funk is the first born of two clans.
After graduating with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the University of Sto. Tomas, he soon joined what was then called Adarna Book Services for various projects spanning many of the company’s early years. He was the first designer/artist who was tasked the development of the brand identity and its product prototypes. In fact, Adarna House continues to use the logo he designed for the company during the 1980s.
During this period, he was in charge of cover design for most of the first 300 titles while authoring and illustrating several titles. His books include Si Putot (written by Mike Bigornia) and Si Hugo, Ang Pahamak na Hunyango—two of Adarna House’s classic titles.
Outside of Adarna House, he was also involved in developing the public school textbook program of the ministry of education (EDPITAF) and designed the non-lingual communication manual of the Southeast Asian Games for the Philippine Olympic Committee.
Funk migrated to the United States in 1984, doing freelance work, managing a type house, producing concerts, and designing books and numerous publications. He worked for the Los Angeles Times, a daily newspaper, as a graphic designer and the creative services department’s technical coordinator, and participated in painting exhibitions with local artists’ groups and causes.
He passed away on November 15, 2016 (Los Angeles time) and will always be remembered as a devoted friend and pioneer of Philippine children’s literature.
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