Brian Curtin
July 2011

This article was published in Bangkok Post on July 20th 2011. Bangkok Post is the most respected English newspaper in Thailand. The official title for this article is The Life of Design:  Famed British designer Jonathan Barnbrook visits Bangkok. Written by  Brian Curtin an Irish-born artist and curator living in Bangkok.







➜ What is the difference between art and design? Well, surely there are many differences. Design serves a practical function in a way that art doesn't, or cannot. The process of creating design is comparable to art but design typically serves a client and art is typically an individual, or personal, pursuit. Moreover, design often requires a number of different skills and therefore can be perceived as a collaborative to a degree that visual art isn't. Finally, art doesn't look like design unless it is saying something about design, which means its art anyway.

However, the question of these pervasive, if not normative, distinctions came to mind at a recent lecture by famed British designer Jonathan Barnbrook in Bangkok. Organised by the International Programme in Communication Design at Chulalongkorn University and titled "What You Want Is Not What You Need", Barnbrook's survey of his innovative, often political, and usually very memorable, designs was the culmination of a 4-day official visit to the capital.

The distinctions I sketched above are, in many ways, nonsense. Barnbrook runs a purposefully small, eponymous studio in London and 40% of his work is not-for-profit. His influences are diverse ("I look around the world and include everything in it"), he claimed he doesn't understand the commercial aspects of his job, and his sensibility was formed under the influence of both the aggressive visuals of Punk and the evocative minimalism of the legendary British band Joy Division.

Barnbrook works across a range of media and contexts: From typography to interior design; and specialist book design to film and motion graphics. In 2001 he designed a billboard with the slogan "Designers, stay away from corporations that want you to lie for them" in LA as a greeting to delegates at an AIGA (American Professional Association for Design) conference in LA. He has worked for uber-artists Damien Hirst and David Bowie in a way that is described as intense and collaborative to a degree that defies the traditional designer-client relationship.

And, further, the products are sometimes eminently collectible.

Barnbrook's work with Hirst includes Pharmacy, a painfully fashionable but short-lived restaurant in London's Notting Hill that was open from 1997 to 2003. The design reflected Hirst's preoccupations with medical imagery and technology, and included a sculpture of the artist's DNA structure, displays of pillboxes and glass-backed urinals. Barnbrook revealed that one problem with the restaurant was customers stealing small items, including menus designed with stock photographs from the pharmaceutical industry. He also reported that he worked on this project for little money. However, when Pharmacy closed, the contents were auctioned at Sotheby's and earned Hirst 11 million. Art? Design? Branding? Go figure.

Another project between both was a monograph of Hirst's art that took 2 years to complete and was featured in MoMA's books of the 20th century. It broke the mould of surveys of an artist's career and included pop-ups and pull-outs concerned, again, with Hirst's obsessions with the human body and the cool rhetoric of the medicine industry. The book began life selling for 16 and now goes for a 1,000.

An album cover for Bowie relies on the singer's iconic face for recognition and the title, Heathen, was printed upside down. Further, imagery on the inner sleeves was inspired by a photograph of a Rembrandt painting vandalised by acid splashes. The museum where this occurred refused Barnbrook permission to republish the image for fear it would encourage Bowie fans to carry out copycat acts.
So, instead, Barnbrook invented his own images of slashed Renaissance paintings. These are somewhat disconcerting in their assault on seemingly sacred icons, as they draw our attention to the disposability of otherwise revered objects.

Barnbrook's most explicitly political work includes agitprop fly posters downloadable from his company's website. One of these links US politicians to their corporate interests in a map-like formation and is bluntly titled "The Corporate Vermin That Rules America". He is currently working with students on re-designs for Northern Ireland's famous tradition of murals that demarcated Protestant and Catholic areas in Belfast.

In a telling moment in his lecture, Barnbrook discussed how one of his typefaces, titled "Exocet" after a war missile, was used by a racist organisation in the US; against, of course, his intention or permission. This is telling insofar as the incident reveals something essential about Barnbrook's oeuvre: How the social and cultural life of design has significance way beyond utilitarian value. And, further, how design can force us to think critically about the world we live in. This is a quality we more readily attribute to art.

ภูมิ รัตตวิศิษฐ์
มีนาคม ๒๕๕๔

This essay was written by Poom Rattavisit with a reference to ออกแบบภาษาอะไร? How do you Design with Thai Language? by Pongtorn Hiranpruek

➜ I shall start this essay by illustrating one simple example—me. I am a Thai communication designer and I mostly work for Thai clients in a Thai environment, but my knowledge of English design and typography far exceeds my primary language’s. I usually find myself spending more time with the details of latin letterforms while treating Thai alphabets as mere text. I never used Thai fonts in any of my self-initiated designs. I read foreign novels and love text set in Sabon, Baskerville, Caslon, and Garamond, but I rarely read Thai books set in I-know-not-what typefaces. And when I write, I write in English. Why do I show such little concern for my own language? Because, in a sense, I am a classic product of Western Colonization. I was placed in an international school since grade 1 and never had any formal Thai education after kindergarden. So using English becomes natural and never once did i find it unusual to see English alphabets in a Thai design. Lately, however, there seems to be an increasing number of these classic, or more precisely classic-wannabe, products as bluntly pointed out by Pongtorn Hiranpruek in his short essay, ‘ออกแบบภาษาอะไร? How do you Design with Thai Language?’ (August 2010). Now, why is that? Why do we aspire to be something not of our making?

Perhaps it is best to begin by looking at our education system and how we are taught, not only in design school but in high school as well. Some people even go as far as stating that Thai education system is a failure. Failure in terms of teaching students how to think and inspiring them to love knowledge. Obviously, every Thai high school has a Thai language course and if it falls into the same collapsing system, how do we expect students to develop a fondness for their own language? In fact, there have been countless complaints by students and outsiders alike, that many teachers teach with little enthusiasm and rarely critique their students’ homework or essay. All they do is assign scores, numbers that define nothing in the long run. Furthermore, surviving a communication design program in a typical Thai university doesn’t require much skill in language. Many teachers may stress the importance of content but in actuality, they rarely read or show interest in what the students have written, especially when it’s long. Without any formal criticism, students continue to make poor choices when selecting keywords for typographic layouts. Moreover, whether the text is in Thai or English, it hardly ever matter. Some even prefer it in English, as it appears more convenient and possibly easier to evaluate as most design standards are imported. And generations after generations, as teachers retire and students replace them, this method of teaching continues to repeat itself.

Apart from the education system, there are certain beliefs that make us see Thai typography the way we see it today—the belief that it is difficult to make a good layout with Thai type; the belief that there are not enough variety of Thai typefaces; and the belief that Thai type does not compliment the overall design. These beliefs so strongly impregnate our mind that many designers choose to take the easy way out by using English type instead, believing that it is the ‘modern’ way to approach design. As pathetic as it sounds, there are people who consider it the definition of ‘cool’ and use it to place their designs in the latest trend. It is actually quite sad to see such a foolish idea influence the way we perceive design. Instead of solving a design problem, designers willingly turn to another problem—language. Many designers even use English without proper knowledge, resulting in various grammatical errors. When it comes to headlines, we put much effort into finding that cool phrase in English even though the body is entirely in Thai. We try our best to make it ‘English’ instead of properly and carefully using Thai. As a result, our city is filled with unnecessary English headlines, taglines, and slogans; and Thai typography continues to develop at a very sluggish rate.

A decade ago, one could say that technology is a hindrance, but nowadays, it makes a poor excuse. There shouldn’t be any reason why we can’t effectively design in Thai. Although the quantity of good Thai fonts available is enormously less than English fonts, it is already quite enough for everyday design purposes. And the number will increase as the access to tools and knowledge become more and more convenient. Additionally, people with positive outlook towards contemporary Thai typography is slowly but steadily increasing.

Another popular excuse of using English type is the belief that since they resemble geometric forms, they compliment the grid system in which we use for designing most of our layout. But thinking about it more critically, perhaps such excuse emerge from our little understanding of the English language. Because we comprehend English less than Thai, we tend to perceive it more abstractly as a ‘form’. When it comes to Thai however, we grasp it so quickly we tend to overlook its ‘form’.

As a matter of fact, the way we perceive the geometry and simplicity of latin alphabets only began in the 1950s with the widespread use of sans-serif typefaces. These fonts may first appeared in the early 1800s, but it is only after world war ii that they became a new standard, especially among swiss graphic designers. And when the approach to graphic design became more geometric in nature with the use of grids, typefaces developed in the same direction. Not only did design evolve, the way people read and look at type also evolve along with it. Though, it is not something that can happen overnight. Thai typefaces can experience a similar transformation and many contemporary fonts are indeed becoming cleaner and more simplified, reflecting our current design culture; if only we do not turn away from it first.

Designers themselves are also partly at fault here. Some even unnecessarily promote the use of latin alphabets to clients, enough so to set a ridiculous trend in contemporary Thai communication design. There are many projects in which the use of English is inessential but we continue to be afraid of our own language, afraid that once used, it would stand out of the modern trend we have absurdly constructed ourselves. One could see examples in how people name their companies and brands. English names usually require English logotype and lettering. Thus the more designers design in English, the less skilled they become in Thai, resulting in little improvement in Thai lettering as a whole. Additionally, the innovative softwares with their easy-to-use font menu and the abundance of typefaces available certainly help accelerate the death of lettering skills. And even with the short list of Thai fonts, Thai lettering is also a victim of this same crime. Today, it is actually quite difficult to find Thai designers with such skills, whether it’s Thai or English.

Aside from the technical and cultural reasons mentioned above, another powerful factor that shouldn’t be overlooked is pride. How much pride do we, designers, have in our own language? Or rather how much pride do we have in being Thai? We cannot deny that where we stand on the international stage and how much we are respected internationally influence the way we see, use, and create things. After all, it may be this individual pride that sculpted the way we approach communication design and typography today. If only Thai designers would take content more seriously, if only we learn to value our language and alphabets, if only we are conscious of our design methods, and if only we could suspend all those rubbish beliefs and make an effort to really work with Thai letterforms, at least the environment we live in would change. And hopefully what we perceive everyday could help us see the aesthetics of our own culture and language. Otherwise, the more we look up to international culture, the less we appreciate ours. And once we take for granted that designing in English is merely ‘cool’, our culture would cease to be a part of (Thai) design, it would just remain a shattered fragment of our humble history.

Poom Rattavisit ภูมิ รัตตวิศิษฐ์
December 2010 ธันวาคม ๒๕๕๓



At the end of the presentation he mentioned that he wanted to keep things from being overly technical, only addressing issues the audience can easily sympathize with. Typography in Thailand has a long way to catch up with the world and it would be too serious a subject to throw complicated technical aspects of type design to the audience. Though, I actually wouldn’t mind if the issues brought forward were more complex, since it would extend the boundaries in which we perceive type. Nonetheless, it gave a nice balance to the whole conference when weighted against some international guest speakers.

On the other side of the field, there are those designers who explore type in its expressive form and the process in which we create type. Type as a mean of visual expression may be experimental in nature as demonstrated by Rukkit Kuanhawate, a Thai graphic designer who have been working on both design and art projects, where he developed a portable stencil block, which consists of simple geometric shapes extracted from letterforms, that could be used to create countless variation of stenciled letterings on-the-go. One cool (if I may use the word) thing is that this stencil block allows for creation in both Thai and Latin alphabets as well as some basic decorative graphics. Unlike other type projects shown in this conference, it doesn’t have the refined qualities possessed in commercial typefaces. But that’s its charm. It’s the other end of the field.



Attention to detail is important. Perhaps, it’s the most important trait for a professional typographer. When we think of type we usually think of something small, one that is within our frame of vision. At small sizes, details become unnoticeable, and imperfections are tolerable. But type doesn’t always remain small and, more than often, has to adapt to larger scale uses. Suppakit Chalermlarp, the last of our Thai speakers, had a career in signmaking, specializing in large-scale application of type. How he sees type may be a tad different from how graphic or communication designers see them. When it comes to large-scale artwork, small details are even more important, and it can draw a clear line between good and bad design. Consistency needs to be perfected because when enlarged, even the tiniest of irregularities can be plainly visible. Overly large ink traps and incoherence in stroke width may be just a few examples reflected in his talk. As a professional signmaker, he would have have to clean up these details himself. In fact, his talk was mainly about the enlargement of these seemingly small things. Certainly there are types that were made for very special purposes, such as Bell Centennial which was designed to address poor reproduction and ink spread in telephone directory printing, and weren’t meant for large-scale uses. But that doesn’t mean that when types are small, details may be neglected. Every typeface should be perfect in itself. That may be what distinguished a commercial font from a free one. ‘You get what you paid for.’ Christian Schwartz’s response to a question at the beginning of the conference regarding this issue is dead obvious, but true.



After all the eight speakers have spoken and the last question answered, BITS MMX eventually came to an end. People naturally started chatting once again, discussing some of the issues raised during the conference with their friends while praising their favorite designers. Soon, it was time to say farewell. As the organizer of this symposium, Anuthin Wongsunkakon, on behalf of Cadson Demak, climbed onto the stage and gave a few traditional words of thanks to all the supporters. Then there was a big round of applause, signaling the closure to one of most significant events in Thai type history.



Wandering out of the auditorium, many may be deeply inspired, some may have made discoveries, while others may start to see type in a new perspective. All of these are great but they only apply to a small group of people. To others outside of this little circle, the importance of typography is still fairly vague. For the most part, people don’t know what typeface they are reading. They can’t tell a Didot from a Bodoni. They can’t see that some serifs are sharper than others. They wouldn’t bother observing the shapes of the tittles. They wouldn’t even notice a ligature when they come across one. So why in the world would one go that extra mile to polish these little details? I would say it’s a mark of professionalism, a sign of quality, and a symbol of perfection. Even if you don’t understand the technical aspects of type design, you could at least appreciate the process. Don’t see it as a typographer designing type, but consider it a professional perfecting the minutest of details. Isn’t it this excellence we should all strive for? Whether you are an engineer, an architect, or a scientist, it’s not difficult to understand. So don’t say you are not a typographer or you don’t work with type. In a sense, you type everyday. And when BITS MMXI comes, just go, sit back, and think small. In the meanwhile, have great expectations.




BITS (Bangkok International Typographic Symposium) First ever typographic conference in SE Asia. Bangkok, Thailand. 30th-31st October 2010.

Presented by Alliance Française de Bangkok with a support from Goethe Institut Thailande and Japan Foundation Bangkok.

Organized by Cadson Demak in association with ThaiGa.

Project Directors: Claire Keefe, Pierre Laburthe, Dr.Norbert Spitz and Ayumi Takita.
Program Director: Anuthin Wongsunkakon and Ankana Srisuk
Workshop Director and Art Director: Pongtorn Hiranpruek
Assistant team: Stawix Rucha, Sitanant Srichanthuk, Anuntaporn Chaiwaraporn, Suksom Ruanghirun

Poom Rattavisit ภูมิ รัตตวิศิษฐ์
December 2010 ธันวาคม ๒๕๕๓



Jean François Porchez might have even added that such practices of taking type for granted are simply unprofessional. His presentation was quite similar to Schwartz in a sense that he talked about the process, though it wasn’t on collaboration, but rather the actual type design process and how clients play an important role in it. In fact, he even stated at the beginning of his presentation that it is not possible to come up with a design without first understanding the context and objective of the client. He guided us through a series of projects including Parisine, Henderson, Retiro, and Vuitton. One of the many interesting issues raised in the presentation was the idea of modernization. Brands with a long history, such as Louis Vuitton and AW Conqueror (both are Porchez’s’ client), have to evolve and a way to do that is to modernize its image. But what is modern? We used the word carelessly since decades ago and will probably continue to use it decades from now. For most people, who are ignorant of modernism, it’s probably just a word easier said than contemporary. ‘So, is there a method in which we could make type look modern?’ an audience asked. His answer? ‘You are a designer of your time, that is why everything you do is modern. Try to be yourself, always.’ A bit egotistic but true. New tools and technology continue to change and shape our everyday life. How then, can type, a creation of our mind, not be a product of our time? Even the context in which we apply type changes. Moreover, some typefaces may have been designed years ago before rising to popularity or becoming a representation of an era. It just depends on when and where the designers and their audience would bring it to center stage.



Normally, type is seen as a container for content, but sometimes it can be the content itself, as illustrated in Hubert Jocham’s presentation where he talked about typographic logos. Whenever we think of logos, we usually think of symbols. But still, there are many famous and popular brandmarks consisted only of type. Some are even just Helvetica made unique. These well-composed types have a meaning of their own. Their image and letterforms often become so symbolic that when even changing the text doesn’t totally destroy the awareness of a brand. However, good logotypes aren’t always easy to find. It may be due to the fact that many designers today lack lettering skills, practically limiting themselves to four basic solutions—having the logotype (usually an existing font) and the symbol on top, next to, or independent of each other, while the fourth integrates them together, which comes closest to being a pure logotype. In any case, a well-designed logotype is strong enough to be a symbol in itself, thus an additional symbol becomes redundant. Besides, type may even be more expressive than pictures or icons. ‘Types can shout, when pictograms can’t,’ said Jocham, when illustrating how type can be more communicative and commanding in some situations, such as a ‘no entry’ sign.

Another point worth mentioning during Jocham’s talk was his answer to an audience’s simple question: What’s the difference between corporate identity and brand identity? He responded, as he was careful to say, from a German perspective. From a Thai perspective, I would say I was somewhat intrigued by his not-so-broad answer: ‘I think there’s a big difference. But I can only say how it is in Germany. Brand identity is purely commercial and it’s more connected to product brand and advertising. Whereas, corporate designing has something against the commercial aspects of business and would rather not involve advertising agencies. It’s a term that says the right thing with a culture behind it.’ The answer is unique to an international conference. It’s this diversity of culture, beliefs, language, and outlook that makes your time worthwhile.

Unlike the other three international speakers, Masayoshi Kodaira, is not a typographer by profession. He is a Tokyo-based graphic designer, though many of his projects utilizes type in remarkable ways. His works weren’t complicated. They were simple, but well-executed. One could see that his process doesn’t instantly begins unconventionally but rather one with a conventional start leading towards the unconventional. He spent most of the time talking about his work and his design process, including such projects from Art Fair Tokyo, Fukatake House, Nara Yoshimoto Exhibition Signage, and many others, most of which were straightforward with no complex meaning behind. That naiveness might not bring a big ‘Wow’ but rather a lovely ‘Ahh…’ instead. Much like what happened when we suddenly grasp a mathematical equation—it just clicks, and that’s a rather nice feeling, a charm every graphic designer yearns for.



Aside from giving presentations, the four international speakers also ran workshops with the management of Pongtorn Hiranpruek, which naturally attracted numerous people. There were designers, college students, and even teachers, some already have a bit of experience, while others didn’t. Nevertheless, there are always new things to learn, especially from someone whose culture and background are different from yours. Walking around the workshops, one could see that each designer had something of their own to offer. 


Christian Schwartz assigned different categories of magazine—fashion, sports, IT, business, and kids & families, to the students, and let them draw a suitable version of the word ‘Sunday’ as a headline for their magazine. But instead of starting from scratch, they had to be based on an existing typeface. So the problem was, what elements of a typeface do you want to keep? And which do you prefer to eliminate? It’s a way of working that once goes to the extreme, may result in new letterforms. 
 Jean François Porchez, on the other hand, had his students worked with more than just pencils. He demonstrated how to use a calligraphic pen, the traditional one you have to dip into an ink bottle. For students who grew out of computers, this approach was rather fascinating as they have the chance to experience old tools that are new to them, giving them, at least, a sense of how the stroke varies along a single letter.


Typefaces may appear clean and refined once they are finished but their origin may be rough. Roughly elegant was the word Hubert Jocham chose to describe his style and it basically applied to his workshop as well. When we write or draw type, we usually start with the outline, however, he asked the students to fill the letters, treating them as a piece of fine drawing. The results, though, were not fine, but rough, and it was this roughness that leads to unexpected letterforms. It is certainly a notable method, the opposite of how people normally approach type design. You can always refine them afterwards, then it’ll be roughly elegant.




Masayoshi Kodaira had a somewhat different activity for his students. It was still about type and lettering, but he gave them more personal freedom. Unlike the others, he let the students chose whatever word they wanted to work on and approach it however they like, then he critiqued them one by one. Although there weren’t any groundbreaking design method offered, there were a lot more discussions going on. It was quite personal when compared to the other three workshops and Masayoshi often gave his own ideas on how he would approach each individual problem.

Overall, the workshops were an inspiring activity where people could obtain more insight in typography. It gave them a hands-on experience, which they wouldn’t get by just sitting in the auditorium. According to an attendee, one thing worth complimenting was that the subjects and issues brought forward by the designers at the workshop were reasonably different from their presentation. It was certainly better for people who attended both the talk and the workshop as they would have the chance to see facets of typography unique to each session.



Coming back to the presentation, there are, of course, four local speakers. And as this conference is held in Bangkok, it is certainly unsurprising that there should be a few talks on type in Thai context. But we have to admit that many contemporary Thai typefaces are largely influence by latin characters, or what Ekaluck Peanpanawate, a Thai typographer who have been working closely with Cadson Demak for many years, would called ‘Based on Thai Ni-yom’. In fact, his presentation largely illustrated the relationship between Thai and Latin type design process.

Sometimes, it is merely the objective of the project to have Thai alphabets entirely based on Latin characters, such as when we have to develop a Thai version of a corporate typeface which belongs to a foreign company. Nokia Sans THAI and 3D World THAI, based on Nokia Sans and WeddingSans respectively, are two of the many examples visible in the market today. It is also a matter of demand and supply. More than often, English text are used together with Thai and we need a solution where two types of different language blend seamlessly. The obvious response is to have a Thai font based on an English font.



Before going any further into the essentials of Thai typeface, it may be important to know first what makes Thai, Thai. Obviously, one of the common characteristics, which can also be seen in Ekaluck’s custom font, Mekhong Gothic and HongThong Gothic, for Thai companies are those sharp pointy terminals. But perhaps, it’s not merely the sharp end points, but the act of adding that tip, which makes Thai, Thai. According to Pairoj Teeraprapa, Thai people have a knack for ‘adding’ as opposed to the western belief of ‘less is more’ (which, in fact, is kind of ironic, since the Eastern philosophy embraces the Middle Path). But, whether we are influenced by the West or we acknowledge that excessive (even the word itself has a rather negative connotation) isn’t always effective, one could say Thailand is in a transition phase, albeit a slow and incoherent one. So, how do we actually fuse such Thai-ness into this ever-growing modern world?

In one of his slides, Pairoj mentioned that there is a scale in which we could create Thai-ness and to what extent, is depended on the designer. A Thai typographer might ask himself how much sharpness the terminals of his letters should expressed. Certainly, a sharp tip is visually symbolic of Thai-ness, however, it can become unreasonably strong and forceful. So it merely comes down to: How much should he add?

To Be Continued....
Looking at the details of BITS MMX (Part 1)
Looking at the details of BITS MMX (Part 3)

Poom Rattavisit ภูมิ รัตตวิศิษฐ์
December 2010 ธันวาคม ๒๕๕๓



➜ As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones. The shape of the letters on my father’s, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, ‘Also Georgiana Wife of the Above,’ I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly.

Such was Pip’s initial understanding of his parents, as taken from the first page of Charles Dicken’s Great Expectations. It was a naive interpretation, though, a rather interesting one. He took the letterforms inscribed on the tombstone so literally it’s almost laughable. But isn’t it because there was nothing else for him to draw upon as he had never saw his father or his mother? Isn’t it because there was only context but no content? We could only draw conclusions from what we have experience, and normally, content would be there to lead us in the proper direction. But with or without content, is there any reason why type, its container, should be neglected? We generally believe that the 1st world, the well-educated, sees the importance of good typography, or maybe they just have the money to pay for it. But isn’t it the 2nd and the 3rd world, the undereducated, who really extract more from the letterforms, as they take things more literally, like little Pip?



For decades, the significance of typography in Thai society has been underrated and undereducated. Similar to many non-1st world countries, it has been overshadowed by other more popular, commercial-oriented fields of design, if any. Because of its subtlety and size (and I mean it literally), type rarely plays a lead role on stage. When it comes into play, it usually appears as a supporting character for graphic design. But bad typography is never good graphic design, so why should type be any less important? And as the old saying goes, God is in the details. Type, perhaps, represents the most fundamental and finest of details in visual-related design.



Then came October 30, 2010, a day that marked a milestone in Typography in Thailand. On this day, Thailand held its first ever typographic conference—BITS (Bangkok International Typographic Symposium). Organized by Cadson Demak and hosted by Alliance Française de Bangkok in association with ThaiGa, Goethe-Institut and Japan Foundation, BITS was the first international typographic conference to be held in Southeast Asia and ran from October 30–31, featuring eight speakers, four international and four local, including Christian Schwartz, Jean François Porchez, Hubert Jocham, Masayoshi Kodaira, Ekaluck Peanpanawate, Pairoj Teeraprapa, Rukkit Kuanhawate, and Suppakit Chalermlarp. In addition to the main event, there was also a podcast recording session. DPBP, a group discussion with local guests, provided a casual closure to the end of each day.

It was a bright and lively Saturday morning. People were gathering around the cafeteria, chatting and enjoying their breakfast while waiting for the show to start. Those who just came were waiting in line to register, while others who already did, got themselves a nice cute little sticker either saying ‘I’m a Type Lover’ or ‘Type Aficionado’. A few paces away, visitors were browsing through some of the t-shirts that were on sale. Each t-shirt was designed by a different designer, and among them, four are very typographic—they were, of course, designed by our four international guests. The staff t-shirt was available as well, proudly presented by Pongtorn Hiranpruek of Cadson Demak. There were also brownies and cakes provided by Vanilla Industry, a leading restaurant in Bangkok, for visitors who prefer a light snack. By now, it was almost time and staff were running around, making their final preparation before the first presentation. As the clock struck ten, the crowd made their way into the auditorium, took their seat, and a few moments later, the symposium began.



BITS MMX officially commenced with a few words by Anuthin Wongsunkakon and the whole conference was narrated by him along with Mali Chaturachinda of Beourfriend Studio. After the short introduction, our first speaker, an already familiar figure in the world of typography, to come on stage was Christian Schwartz, who talked about collaboration in type. With considerable insight on the matter, it certainly gave us some light on how people in this field actually interact with one another. As we know, it’s usually easier to associate a creation to one specific person, but type, as small as it is, is sometimes crafted by several hands. For instance, the well-known ITC Officina Family is often attributed to Erik Spiekermann, but to be accurate, there were four other designers involved, including Erik van Blokhand, Just van Rossum, Ole Schäfer, and Christian Schwartz. In a collaboration, different people have different ways of working and perceiving type e.g. Erik Spiekermann art directs with words, not sketches, Paul Barnes, who’s Schwartz’s partner, through his extensive knowledge of history, and art directors, by looking at its context. It’s a lot more complicated than just getting the brief, making a few sketches, and drawing it on a computer. Some parts even appear like a no-brainer, such as selecting the right font to use. On the surface, the process of type selection may seem like a simple and mindless task as there is no clear line between right and wrong. Moreover, a professional type designer might take just a little more time to choose a type than a marketing executive. One has to consider, however, the fact that that is the result of a typographer’s entire career, his experience, and his knowledge of type history. Whether it’s a mere selection of an existing typeface or a development of a new one, it’s never child’s play.

To Be Continued....
Looking at the details of BITS MMX (Part 2)

ปิยพงศ์ ภูมิจิตร
กุมภาพันธ์ ๒๕๕๒

บทความเกี่ยวกับการออกแบบปรับปรุงนิตยสารดิฉัน และการอกกแบบชุดตัวอักษรใหม่สำหรับนิตยสารผู้หญิงคลาสสิคฉบับนี้ โดย ปิยพงศ์ ภูมิจิตร ตีพิมพ์ในนิตยสารอาร์ตโฟร์ดี ฉบับประจำเดือนกุมภาพันธ์ ๒๕๕๒

“Finding her Type” an article about redesigning one of Thailand's longstanding fashion magazine. Piyapong Bhumichitra looks at the new typeface of Dichan magazine and notes that magazine design really needs such special skills. This article published in February 2009 issue of art4d magazine.

Scroll down for English version of this article provided by art4d magazine.



-----» สำหรับผมเวลาที่มีโอกาสได้ใกล้ชิดดิฉันก็ตอนเข้าร้านตัดผมแถวมหาวิทยาลัย ไม่ใช่สมัยตัดทรงนักเรียนหัวเกรียนเขียว 3 ด้านแน่นอนที่จะได้เจอกับดิฉัน นอกจากอ่านเพลินๆพร้อม มองเศษผม ทั้งผมตัวเองและผมคนอื่น บางทีก็รำคาญ แต่เนื้อหาข้างในสนุกเกินว่าจะสนว่าผมใครที่ไหนมายุ่มย่ามกับดิฉัน ชอบอ่านบทสัมภาษณ์ของดิฉันเพราะคนถามและคนตอบคุยกันน่าฟัง ส่วนเรื่องชาวบ้านก็ต้องคอลัมน์ ‘ปลากัด’ หน้าหลังๆที่ชอบพลิกอ่านก่อนก็ ‘ยิ้มมังกร’ และที่สำคัญผมชอบดูภาพประกอบ ผลงานอาจารย์ที่เคยสอนตีพิมพ์แทบทุกปักษ์ไม่เคยขาด ลองคิดตามกันดีกว่าว่านิตยสารที่วางแผงอยู่ทุกวันนี้เหลือชื่อที่เป็นภาษาไทยอยู่กี่ฉบับ ลองนึกดูว่าชื่อคอลัมน์ บทความหรือชื่อเรื่องแต่ละเล่มที่ยังคงเป็นภาษไทยเหลืออยู่กี่มากน้อย นิตยสารที่คุณถืออ่านอยู่ตอนนี้ยังไม่ใช่ภาษาไทยเลยใช่ไหม

ดิฉันฉบับที่ 765 ในหน้าบ.ก.แถลงเพื่อทราบว่า นี่คือฉบับที่เริ่มมีการปรับโฉมใหม่ เป็น ‘ดิฉัน’ ใหม่ที่เปรี้ยวล้ำ ทันสมัย แถมกำชับเป็นอย่างดีว่าให้ลองเปิดดูทีละหน้า ถึงหน้าตาจะแปลกตาไปบ้าง แต่ทีมงานทุกคนทำทุกหน้าด้วยความรักผู้อ่านเหมือนเดิม โจทย์ที่ดิฉันมอบหมายให้นภธัช ลีรเศรษฐกร รับหน้าที่กำกับศิลปดูแลเรื่องการปรับปรุงหน้าตาดิฉันให้ทันสมัยขึ้น มีอายุน้อยลง แต่ยังคงความรู้สึกแบบดิฉัน ฟังดูยากแต่ก็น่าสนใจไม่น้อย นิตยสารที่อยู่มาสามสิบกว่าปี เดือนหนึ่งออก 2 เล่ม เล่มหนึ่ง 300 หน้า เดือนหนึ่งจะได้อ่านกัน 600 กว่าหน้า จะออกมาหน้าตาเป็นเช่นไร

นภธัชเริ่มต้นด้วยการจัดการกับโครงสร้างระบบกริดที่ขาดความชัดเจนไร้ระบบที่แน่นอน การหยิบเอารูปแบบศิลปะแบบ De Stijl ของศิลปินดังๆอย่าง Piet Mondrian หรือ Theo Van Doesburg มาใช้ เลยได้เห็นโครงสร้างและองค์ประกอบที่ใช้การตัดกันของเส้นตั้งและเส้นนอน สร้างพื้นที่สำหรับการวางรูปภาพและเนื้อหาในแต่ละหน้า ชื่อคอลัมน์ยังรักษารูป-แบบลายมือเขียนไว้เหมือนเดิมกับของเก่า

นอกจากการปรับระบบโครงสร้างของแต่ละหน้าขึ้นมาใหม่ ตัวอักษรภาษาไทยคือสิ่งที่คนอ่านจะเห็นได้บ่อยที่สุด หลังจากเสนอความคิดเรื่องการออกแบบชุดตัวอักษรขึ้นมาใหม่สำหรับดิฉันโดยเฉพาะแล้ว หน้าที่นี้ก็ถูกส่งต่อให้กับบริษัทคัดสรรร ดีมาก เป็นผู้รับผิดชอบออก-แบบชุดตัวอักษรภาษาไทยขึ้นใหม่

แนวคิดของนภธัชต้องการให้ชุดตัวอักษรนี้ถอดแบบมาจากหัวดิฉันที่เป็นงานออกแบบ lettering ของภานุ อิงควัต หัวดิฉันนั้นใช้เส้นตั้งที่ตรงและเส้นนอนที่นูนโค้งทั้งด้านบนและด้านล่าง ปัญหาที่อนุทิน วงศ์วรรคกรและ เอกลักษณ์ เพียรพนาเวช นักออกแบบตัวอักษรของคัดสรรดีมาก พบก็คือ ถ้าตั้งใจยึดแบบให้เหมือนกับหัวนิตยสารทุกประการแล้ว ชุดตัวอักษรที่ต้องนำไปใช้ ทั้งเป็นตัวหัวเรื่อง ตัวนำ และตัวโปรยอาจทำให้ดิฉันกลายเป็นนิตยสารว่าด้วยเรื่องของเทคโนโลยี



คัดสรรดีมาก จัดการผสมลักษณะอักษรแบบไม่มีเชิงของไทย (Sans Serif) เข้าไป และทำการตัดทอน ปรับเปลี่ยนให้โครงสร้างของตัวอักษรเป็นแบบเส้นเท่า (mono line) พอพัฒนามาจากหัวดิฉัน เลยเกิดทั้งเส้นตั้งและเส้นนอนที่เป็นเส้นเท่ากันจำนวนมาก พวกเขาตั้งใจเก็บความโค้งของเส้นนอนให้ใกล้เคียงกับหัวที่ภานุออกแบบไว้ เพื่อลดความแข็งกระด้างจนเกินงามและอย่างที่บอกไปแล้วว่าถ้ายึดตามสัดส่วนเดิมจะทำให้ชุดตัวอักษรที่ออกมากว้างเกิน เวลาอ่านต้องลากสายตายาวไป แถมเปลืองหน้ากระดาษเวลาพิมพ์อีกต่างหาก

ชุดตัวอักษรของ ‘ดิฉัน’ ทำออกมาสอง น้ำหนัก เป็นแบบที่บอบบางมากกับบอบบางน้อย แถมด้วยการพัฒนาระบบตัวเลขทั้ง อารบิกและเลขไทยให้รับกับตัวเลขบอกฉบับที่บนปกหน้า รวมไปถึงไอคอนตอนจบคอลัมน์ ที่เป็นรอยจูบก็จัดให้เป็นไฟล์ฟอนต์เพื่อความสะดวกเวลาใช้งาน

หลังจากได้ชุดตัวอักษรจากคัดสรรดีมาก และลองใช้จริงกับการจัดหน้าตาดิฉันแล้ว นภธัช คิดว่าปัญหาอย่างเดียวของการใช้ชุดตัวอักษรนี้คือความไม่มั่นใจเวลาคนจัดหน้านำไปใช้

ถึงตอนนี้งานของนภธัชยังไม่จบ สำหรับฉบับแรกที่ปรับโฉมให้ดิฉันนั้น คงได้ทั้งเสียงวิจารณ์ทั้งบวกและลบ งานต่อไปคือต้องคอยประคองดิฉันไปอีก 5-6 เล่ม ทั้งให้คำปรึกษาเมื่อเกิดปัญหา สิ่งที่คิดไว้จะใช้งานจริงได้ดีแค่ไหน ถ้าไม่ดีก็ต้องปรับไปพร้อมๆกับฝ่ายศิลป์ของดิฉัน

ผมคงบอกไม่ได้ว่าโฉมใหม่ของ ‘ดิฉัน’ ดีหรือแย่กว่าของเดิมที่เคยเป็นมา ตัวอักษรชุดใหม่ ทำสวยดวงตาผู้สูงอายุแค่ไหน โอกาสดีที่ได้ใกล้ชิดกับดิฉันอีกครั้งก็ตอนได้ยินว่า ดิฉันจะปรับโฉมใหม่พร้อมชุดตัวอักษรของตัวเอง มันเป็นเรื่องดีแค่ไหนที่ดิฉันจะเป็นแบบอย่างให้นิตยสารอีกหลายหัวบนแผงหันมาใส่ใจกับราย-ละเอียดสำคัญพวกนี้ ถ้าคุณมีโอกาสได้อ่าน ‘ดิฉัน’ ฉบับต่อไป โปรดระลึกไว้ว่านอกจากทีมงานของ ‘ดิฉัน’ แล้ว ยังมีนักออกแบบอีกหลายชีวิตที่อยู่เบื้องหลังหน้าตาของ ‘ดิฉัน’



-----» My familiarity with Dichan comes from the times I have had my hair done at a shop near the university. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about a school-style crew cut, of course. Rather than watching my precious strands snipped and lying stranded on the floor amid the shavings from other customers’ scalps, my time at the hairdresser’s is spent diving into the regular features of Dichan that I enjoy the most. I like the ebb and flow of the more interesting interviews, and the gossip in the ‘Fish Bites’ column. Among the later pages, ‘The Dragon’s Smile’ is entertaining as well. And, I have an especially tender spot for the illustration work by one of my university professor. Of course, I don’t miss a single issue.

Just consider how many publications, of all the magazines on the stands, or of all the columns and headings in the magazines, have a Thai name like “Dichan”. What about the one you are holding right now?

The Editor’s Page of Issue no. 765 of Dichan announces a major facelift for the magazine. This is a newer, cooler, more modern Dichan, urging readers to look for themselves on each page and notice the difference, but the care and concern that the editorial team has for their readers has not changed at all. The challenge handed to Noppatad Leera-settakorn as the Art Director, was to give the magazine a thoroughly modern ‘look,’ a rejuvenation treatment if you like, without losing the ‘feel’ of being Dichan. It sounds hard, but interesting; how do you accomplish this with a magazine that has been going strong and long for over thirty years, twice a month, 300 pages per issue, or 600 pages per month?

Noppatad set off by tackling the ambiguous and unclear grid system. In its place, he adopted the artistic format of De Stijl, exemplified in the work of Piet Mondrian or Theo van Doesburg. By laying out a new format of intersec-ting vertical and horizontal lines, he was able to create new space for pictures and text on each page. The column titles were kept as before, with flowing hand-written rather than typed text.

Next to the new grid structure, the other most prominent feature of the redesigned version of the magazine is the new fonts. After discussing the possibility of designing a whole new font exclusively for Dichan, this assignment was given to Cadson Demak, a Thai type design firm.

At first Nopaptad wanted to use the same typeface from which the title ‘Dichan’ itself was taken, originally designed by Panu Ingavata a few decades ago. This ‘Dichan’ lettering stand upright, with the horizontal lines bulging upwards and downwards. The comment from Cadson Demak’s designers, Anuthin Wongsunkakon and Ekaluck Paenpanawate was that if the same style was followed slavishly throughout, Dichan may look as if it belonged in the technology section of the newsstand.

Cadson Demak decided on a hybrid approach, employing a Thai Sans Serif font, and simplifying it into mono line typeface. Developing the design out of the ‘Dichan’ masthead, a large number of vertical and horizontal strokes turned out to be such austere lines. The horizontal lines retained the bulges that Panu had given to reduce the stiffness of the script, but the original proportions of the masthead were adjusted to avoid overly wide letters that would make too long a text line.

Finally the new Dichan font was designed in two ‘weights’, slim and hefty. It includes a set of numerals, both Arabic and Thai, which is the same typeface as the ones used for the issue number on the cover. A lip print graphic, an end-of-article icon, is also modified into picture font format.

With the publication of the first ‘new’ version of Dichan, he had to encounter a storm of comments, both positive and negative. His next task was to shepherd the magazine through the next 5-6 issues and provide advice whenever problems arose. Many matters that he thought would be fine turned out to need adjustment by both himself and the art department of the magazine.

I cannot say whether the new version of Dichan is better than the old one or not, or whether the special font now in use can satisfy loyal readers. I had yet another opportunity to familiarize myself with Dichan when I heard that the magazine was about to get a new look and a new typeface. One thing is certain: many more magazines on the newsstand will begin to wonder whether they need facelifts too. The next time you read Dichan, remember, at least, that besides the team at the magazine there are many more designers working behind the scene to make your favourite magazine look even better.

☑ สามารถหาภาพเพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับงานออกแบบชุดนี้ได้จาก คัดสรรดีมาก ดีสทริบิวชั่น

สุรยศ วัฒนบูรพากูล
กันยายน ๒๕๕๑

-----» When we read, most of us are simply searching for meaning. Very few of us ever take the time to reflect on the actual words as they are printed on the page. This issue, NJ talks to a man whose passion is the typed word – not so much for what they are trying to convey but more for what they look like. Anuthin Wongsunkakon is a typographic designer whose skill helps to make the written word so much more appealing.

Anuthin graduated with a Master’s Degree in Design from Pratt Institute School of Art & Design in New York. He is one of the founding partners of Behaviour Group Inc. & Cadson Demak Co.,Ltd., a Thai design studio that offers full typographic services.

His company is certainly attracting attention; his fonts have been used in magazines, book covers, consumer packaging and record sleeves. His corporate work has included projects for Thai clients such as AIS, Dtac, CAT Telecom and Wallpaper Magazine’s Thai edition.

Anuthin believes that fonts define who we are but is well aware that sometimes we are so used to communicating through fonts that we take them for granted. He believes that fonts have power. Some types, when combined into words, can help the reader feel beyond the meaning of the words. In terms of design, he claims endless inspiration. Typographic design is very challenging in that the design needs to maintain its original shape. For instance, after redesigned, the font still needs to be readable.

Anuthin believes that before becoming a typographic designer you need to start from the basics of graphic design. When you understand the whole idea of graphic design, you will find out whether you have passion for this career or not. As a typographic designer you need to commit to your work 24/7. Moreover, you also need to be good at Maths and English as well. So, anyone who pursues this career needs to be very open-minded and driven.

“Typing his way to the top” by Surayos Wattanaburapakul is published in The Nation Junior volume 388

อนุทิน วงศ์สรรคกร
พฤษภาคม ๒๕๕๑

บทความชิ้นนี้ถูกเขียนขึ้นพิเศษเพื่อใช้ประกอบในสูจิบัติสำหรับนิทรรศการของ สันติ ลอรัชวี “ไม่ อาจ จะ ใช่” จัดขึ้นระหว่างวันที่ ๕ ถึง ๓๑ กรกฎาคม ๒๕๕๑ ณ หอศิลป์ มหาวิทยาลัยกรุงเทพ วิทยาเขตกล้วยน้ำไท เรียบเรียงโดย เจิมศิริ เหลืองศุภภรณ์ และจัดทำเป็นภาษาอังกฤษโดย ภูมิ รัตตวิศิษฐ์

Original essay in Thai was written by Anuthin Wongsunkakon for “Yes I am not” An art exhibition by Santi Lawrachawee. Edited by Jermsiri Luangsupporn, Translated by Poom Rattavisit


-----» The transfer of data is something we all are familiar with. Data is valuable only to the extent that it is delivered properly. When there is no receiver, it will lose its worth (sometimes, however, it is the opposite, and such data becomes invaluable) or will just remain as a record of the creator.

A new data is formed by assembling and organizing pieces of data from different sources. As you can see, it is the nature of data to be transform and transmit. Even if it remains 'hidden', it cannot hide from this fact.

Every form of design conveys some kind of message. That message or data is transferred artistically, or rather abstractly, through colors, shapes, and other elements. It extends beyond spoken and written words; therefore, it is important that designers are able to speak and write competently since they need to communicate on a visual level.

Even today, designers still couldn't speak or write well. It may be the root of all problems in the current design community. Designers often forget that it is their job to communicate, possibly because of incorrect interpretation through ambiguous messages, making the line between right and wrong unclear. Moreover, the renowned phrase, "There is no right or wrong in design," keeps designers in a whirlpool of uncertainty. We hear and use it too frequently, so often that its meanings and implications become distorted.

If data is a product, it needs an appropriate packaging before it could be delivered. The process of creating such packaging is design. No matter if it is a cover design, a layout of a page, an arrangement of a bulletin board by a high school student, or a well-crafted piece of design by a professional designer, they are all based on the same principle. The difference may only be in the skill and proficiency of the person responsible.

Nevertheless, design is not just a decoration of the exterior. In order to create an appropriate package, the designer must study the product inside and out. Only when the designer fully understand it, can he/she justifies his/her work. Thus it is essential that the designer is able to organize the data intelligently. In reality, however, many design schools still ignore this simple idea.

When data is organized inefficiently, some pieces of data become lost. Lost, in this sense, does not mean trimming out the excessive parts - those that are insignificant and make the message unnecessarily long. More than 90% of the data that has been lost is caused by the designer who is unable to organize it intelligently. Sometimes, narrow-minded clients can accentuate the problem. In addition, if there is a representative, whether on the designer's or the client's part, chances are that data will be lost on the way to the intended receiver. As a result, the process of design will be affected unintentionally and if the designer does not know how to sort it out, it will be a catastrophe.

Think of the game, 'Whisper Down the Lane', it is an excellent example of data loss. Each player has to depend on a source that is second-hand, third-hand, or even forth-hand, and sometimes the original source itself is inaccurate. At the end of the game, there is usually a loss of data caused by someone mishearing the message. The same applies to the business world. If everything went smoothly, one well-organized meeting may be enough, and of course, it is better than having too many.

When designer receives the data, he/she must be able to separate the necessary from the unnecessary; therefore it is important that he/she is considerably knowledgeable in areas such as marketing, public relations, communication, and other related fields but still on the basis of aesthetics. Designing without proper understanding is no different than answering a question without thinking. When one answers without thinking, the answer becomes insignificant. It might be the main reason why this country does not see the importance of professional designers.

A basic process of communication can be illustrated in the following way: A message is spoken to a listener. The listener jots it down using his writing skills. The reader then uses his reading skills to analyze and comprehend the written data. In order to preserve the original data under these circumstances, language skills are obviously indispensable.

Looking at it carefully, humans are the flaw of data transmission. Whatever we do, whether if it is speaking, listening, or writing, there is always a possibility of data loss. We cannot argue with the fact that every person is on a different level of literacy. Moreover, personal opinions and viewpoints will certainly bias the original message. An obvious example would be a news reporter speaking his/her voice while reporting to the public. When the receiver is incapable of capturing the essence of the message, he/she unintentionally welcomes a spin. The way designers and advertisers extract and present only the benefits of a product can also be considered a type of spin.

To minimize data loss, humans need to make back up copies. Photocopy machines and USB flash drive both operate on this basis (only that one is an analog system while the other, a digital). Magazines and newspapers also work with this idea, however, there are still chances that the data could be intentionally or unintentionally modified prior to the back up process. In the end, it is up to the receiver to organized the final data.

The good thing about backing up digitally is that every copy is exactly the same since what is recorded are merely numbers. It is widely used nowadays, wide enough to make us forget that we might one day unable to retrieve the stored data. Digital back up is simple and economical while at the same time can be effortlessly cracked and modified. It comes easily and goes easily as well. A disc cannot outlive a carved stone.

In the age of information technology, the world becomes smaller and data moves faster and more freely. This phenomenon is clearly evident in weblogs where anyone can publicize almost anything they want. Even Times Magazine honored every reader who contribute to the internet to be man of the year. Email is another great example, we could see that the number of users constantly increases for the past ten years.

The faster data is fed, the more difficult it is for the reader to digest. Since there is a shorter time frame between the creation of the data and its publication, the extraction process becomes rougher. Decades ago, it took days before something could be printed and publicized. Now, if takes only a single click. Our ability to receive information should develop in parallel to technology, but sadly, it does not. We remain more or less static. Many misunderstandings in society today is a result of this condition.

In the beginning, humans created language for the purpose of communication which led to the formation of a community. Everyday we are driven by data. It is the way the world moves. If we look at it carefully, technology, business, art, music, design etc. are all languages in disguise. They are made to communicate one way or another.

One could say that the movement of data is communication. Humans cause this movement and this is the nature of society. We know that if there is a flaw in communication, it is in us, humans. No matter how far the medium in which data travel develops, we cannot use it efficiently until we solve our own problems.

When we create a piece of data, we need to know where our receiver stands. Not everyone is smart or foolish enough to grasp any message. Whether if it is a written or graphic language, they should both sympathize with the receiver's educational level.

Any society that has difficulties with the flow of communication should improve their education in all areas. Design is one perfect judge in this situation. It needs to work on the same level as the receiver, otherwise the intended message will not be delivered properly.

When the level of education is low, it pulls everything down with it. Many designers wish to contribute something to the flow of communication, to make it better. They are, however, confined within the boundaries of a conservative society. Stepping out of those sensitive bounds may lead to a failure in communication.

ภูมิ รัตตวิศิษฐ์
ตุลาคม ๒๕๕๐

Helvetica Film in Bangkok and post-screening discussion with Stefan Sagmeister, Anuthin Wongsunkakon and Pracha Suveeranont. SF Cinema Central World 13 October 2007. Organized by art4d as a part of Bangkok Design Festival 2007.



-----> It is almost unnecessary to talk about Helvetica after an 80 min. screening of the film since pretty much every aspect of the type face has been covered. Nevertheless, a fine meal is always followed by a dessert.

When one speaks of Helvetica, one speaks of neutrality. It defines a well-designed sans-serif that had been stripped down to the bone and one could go as far as considering it the most 'naked' typeface. Moreover, it is extremely versatile. Take Helvetica World for example, because of its neutrality, it made it possible to base almost every written language, even Arabic, on this typeface.

Of course, one typeface can not rule it all. Helvetica does not serve well in every design project. If, however, designers can only choose a single typeface, Helvetica would obviously be one of the more popular choices. This only illustrates how people react to the typeface and confirms its neutrality and versatility.



Not everyone look at Helvetica from the same perspective and this mostly depends on where and when one was first introduced to it. People in the post-digital era would probably see Helvetica like any other ordinary typefaces since most computer come installed with this font. With such immediate access, it is not surprising that many would take it for granted. On the other hand, looking at Helvetica from an academic point of view, one would learn to appreciate (or possibly hate) its history and eventually the type itself.

Certainly, Helvetica is not the only ‘classic’ typeface out there. Many typefaces in the past still shine even today. When asked whether there would be a typeface that would fall into the 'classics' in the same category as helvetica, Anuthin Wongsunkakon believed there would, however, such typeface would have to deliver the message quickly efficiently, and modestly.

“The storyline is very Helveitca as well as the soundtrack,” Anuthin Wongsunkakon commented on the film. Even though the “soundtrack” part was a bit unexpected and was intended to be a comic relief, he seriously meant it. “If Helvetica - The Movie is like a straight shot of tequila, we would have the right to loosen up a bit and talk about something odd like the soundtrack.”



Some foreign audience commented that the discussion was a car-wreck and the content was somewhat pointless. We should, however, take into account that this particular discussion is held in Thailand; therefore, talking about Helvetica in Thai context is rather typical. “By the way, we were generous enough to conduct it in English instead of Thai,” added Anuthin.

Unluckily, the movie does not have Thai subtitle. It could certainly give a better understanding and appreciation to the Thai audience. Thai people, including some professional designers, are usually ignorant of typography. The screening of Helvetica - The Movie in Thailand can be considered a milestone in its field and even though Helvetica is not a Thai typeface, it has a universal aesthetic and would continue to inspired countless designers.

Text: Poom Rattavisit
Special thanks to Piyapong Bhumichitra and Wee Viraporn for the photos.

แม๊กซ์ คริสมานน์
มีนาคม ๒๕๔๘

Max Kisman
March 2005

The past and future of Thai graphic design

First published in 2000 in the United Kigdom by Thames and Hudson, the Book A Century Of Thai Graphic Design, compiled by Thai historian Anake Nawigamune, was the reason to investigate past and current developments in modern graphic and type design in Thailand.

A Century Of Thai Graphic Design

After the introduction of printing technology in Thailand in 1796, using the Roman alphabet and a xylograph for a prayer book, the first book using Thai printed in 1828 in Calcutta, the the move and installation of its printing press and type to Bangkok in 1835, it seems that the development of the printing industry and printed matter tightly is related to cultural, social and economical changes.

The ruling kings often used the printing press for addressing the general public with proclamations, news papers, value papers and bank notes. Later the introduction of various means of transport, trade, commercial products, theater and foreign movies caused a growing need for printed matter.

Except in a few private private collections, very little of all this has been preserved. Anake Namigamune compiled an impressive book with material from his own collection and from a number of his friends. A Century Of Thai Graphic Design, portrays a culture through its Ephemera and printed products. In a humid and hot environment, were a lot is being recycled by the less fortunate, disposable paper products don’t have a long life span.

Little to none was documented on the history of the graphic industry and printed matter when Namigumune decided to make this book. The title A Century Of Thai Graphic Design, for the western market is somewhat unfortunate, when presenting a collection printed matter not necessarily exposes developments in the thinking process of visual communication. Even for us westerners, the original title Siamese Printed Matter, would have been more appropriate regarding its content, that starts with the introduction of printing and ends with the introduction of the Compugraphic type system. Unfortunately, recent developments in printing and graphic design culture of the past 30 years are not covered in the book.

As an archival exhibition, this book is a pleasure to browse through, examine and re-examine the illustrations, the depictions of Thai culture, Thai lettering and vanishing printing techniques. It nevertheless leaves me with questions about the function of typography and depiction in contemporary visual communication, the position of graphic design in the editorial process, and the role of graphic design as a cultural phenomenon.

In an attempt to get more insight in the subject I asked Anake Nawigamune, historian of Thai culture, collector and the author of A Century Of Thai Graphic Design, Pornprapha Phatanateacha, assistant professor in Communication Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts in Qatar, and Anuthin Wongsunkakon and Nirut Krusuansombat, founding partners of the Behaviour Group design firm in Bangkok, a few questions about graphic design and typography in Thai culture.

To me, the title A Century Of Thai Graphic Design suggests the history of a particular artistic and skilled specialism, rather than an archival exhibition of Ephemera and disposable printed products. The original title, Siamese Printed Matter seems more appropriate.

Anake Namigamune :Siamese Printed Matter is the actual title I used in the Thai version. The translation was done by the publisher, River Books, without my comment. Partly because I speak little English, partly because they did not ask for my opinion. I agree with you on the point you made about the title.

Pornprapha Phatanateacha :I use Anake Nawigamune’s A Century of Thai Graphic Design as a reference book that helps me understand the knowledge of Thai designers form the previous times. I agree with you that the title of the book is misleading to the readers for what it represent. I also found two other publications by the same author. It is very difficult to find any publications dedicated to graphic design. I mostly found books related to Thai lettering design and Thai traditional motifs. I assume that Mr. Nawigamune is also interested in research on Thai graphic design and not only the history of Thai printed matter, but I am not sure that the term graphic design has been well defined yet in Thailand.

Graphic design is, as far as I know, a relatively new subject for Thailand. There are three categories of arts and design: fine arts, decorative arts and communication arts. In this case, graphic design in Thailand is categorized under communication arts, such as advertising and television.

The term ‘graphic design’ will only be understood by design students, professors and some of the practitioners. And for the rest of Thai people there are several interpretations and translations, such as computer graphic design. Most of the time people will relate any kind of graphics to the computer. I visited several universities that offer a graphic design cirriculum. The Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok uses the Thai term for graphic design. Others use the transliteration of the term ‘graphic design’ from English.

Anuthin Wongsunkakon : The book by Anake Nawigamune is not an absolute source for graphic design and typography, but I am afraid it is only book in the English language on this very issue that I know of. Sadly enough, we don’t have a well written record on Thai graphic design. It is a very complex issue and involved with many factors from design education to technology.

Anake is a great collector with huge collection of print and a lot of stuff, but he has not much to do with the field of graphic design. On the other hand, our studio had bad experiences dealing with anything historic. For a pi font we designed based on an early 20th century Thai newspaper, we had to do our research in foreign libraries, because we couldn’t get to the micro films at ‘our’ national library. It’s all keep it so well and they let nobody study –actually we should say touch– them. You see, there is some kind of problem here. It gives you an idea of why graphic design history in Thailand is like jigsaw puzzle that never has been put together.

Is there a specific definition of graphic design or a graphic designer within the context Thai visual culture?

Anuthin Wongsunkakon : As I mentioned earlier, A Century of Thai Graphic Design is a misnomer for Anake's book. While preserving excellent examples of Thai memorabilia, it does not address the development of Thai graphic design. The face of Thai graphic design as we see today, only started some time after the period covered by the book. Up to that point printers played the role of the designer, using foreign technology and ideas.

The beginning of true graphic design through education in Thailand began with the establishment of Silpakorn University Decorative Art School in 1956. Even then, curriculum was based on Western ideas of graphic design.

Silpakorn offers a degree in visual communication art. The student has to master everything from illustration design, information design, graphic design, motion picture and advertising design. This became a model for art and design schools that were established after Silpakorn. Another word, graphic design has never been a major. It is more like personal interest. The arrival of graphic design as a major at the School of Fine and Applied Arts at the Chulalongkorn University in 1985 does not much effect the interest of design education reform.

If by ‘Thai visual culture’ you mean the material represented in the book, my answer is that they are depictions of Thai printing crafts, rather than graphic design. Could it be the starting point? Maybe! Therefore today's Thai graphic designers are not yet represented in these kind of publications.

Western movements in fine art and philosophy have had tremendous influences of the thinking process in the applied arts and provoked changes in depicting traditional meaning and values. In your mind, how does Thai culture relate to contemporary modern visual styles, and to what extend does it find its identity from its own tradition?

Pornprapha Phatanateacha : The changes in Thai culture, design, fashion and lifestyle are very common for a developing country. Losing its identity and its significant quality of its culture is the biggest concern of this rapid movement in Thai society. The biggest challenge is to remain and to preserve the existing culture within the development of society. These problems not only effect the Thai lifestyle and fashion, but also Thai graphic design. There is a trend in Thai poster design, advertising and package design, based on Western design concepts, to match its success.

Anuthin Wongsunkakon : The traditional Thai patterns are often borrowed by contemporary designers to make their work instantly look Thai. Since the traditional rarely evolved into modern form, it's now ‘forced’ into contemporary concepts. Graphic design in our country has a problem relating itself to people. People don't understand graphic design and graphic designers don’t know graphic design more than its commercial work routine. At the same time, the design industry tries too much to achieve an international image by copying the looks from the west. The result was that our graphic design lost its character long before modern globalization.

Nirut Krusuansombat :Do we still have Thai culture? What is the real Thai Culture? Those questions sound sarcastic. We easily accept things form everywhere... Europe, China, Japan and America. It seems to me we have been trying to do graphic design in a Thai way which is heavily dominated by western culture. That is why we unknowingly rejected Thai culture because we try so hard to match the American image. What we see today in Thai graphic design is a reaction to Thai culture. Thai graphics just reflect what Thai people want to be.

Would you be able to know type cutters and type foundries of the various Thai typefaces? Are there any known typeface designers of Thai type?

Anake Namigamune : Cutting of Thai scripts was first done in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma, MK), then taken to India for the publication of the first book ever printed in Thai in 1828. Later on the typefaces were brought into Thailand through Singapore by reverent Dan Beach Bradley, an American missionary. The cutting of Thai scripts wasn’t done for a while. Typography, the use of typefaces, really started in Thailand in 1843, still carried out by missionaries. It is not known to me when the Thai took the art into their hands.

Anuthin Wongsunkakon : The first removable typeface was created for Thailand by the French. Once type was produced in Thailand by Thais, more fancy and experimental typefaces were developed. When Linotype arrived, the existing Thai fonts were required to fit the new format. Also, in order to ‘match’ the standard Latin font set used with Linotype a new set of Thai fonts had to be created. This was a turning point and a golden age in Thai type design. It created number of modern faces and a trend towards designs to meet popular Latin fonts.

There are some legendary designers from the Linotype period, that broke into the digital era. For example EAC (East Asiatic Co), a foundry that was an early importer of Linotype technology laid the foundation for modern Thai type. DB (Dear Book) was a pioneer of Thai fonts in the early Macintosh days. More recently, the foundry PSL Smart Letters is considered as the source for the popular use of digital fonts by Thai designers.

The period before Linotype is a bit off record. The only article that put the jigsaw together on this subject, is a document from the exhibition 10 Fonts of Thailand, written by Pracha Suveranon. Although I think a few of the selected fonts for this publication are more like personal choices. Especially the choices picked from Linotype period. A milestone in font design is the Chuanpim by Chao Sornsongkram. among other innovative designs, it did not get the recognition that it deserved. It is one of the fonts that was rejected it in the 70s, but gained more respect and was accepted and considered legible in late 80s. When I worked on the Thai text face for DNA magazine, Chunapim was one of the fonts that I studied a lot. I actually had a chance to talk to the Chao Sornsongkarm. In his own words “I designed it for Thai people to have a modern quality text font.”. Just wanted to set a standard Thai font, he said. Sornsongkarm is a Thai graphic designer who graduated in the United States and now still runs his family print shop.

Nirut Krusuansombat : Most of the time we at Behaviour Group, use our own in-house designed Thai fonts for our work and we started to create custom Thai fonts for a major product brand identity.

Anuthin Wongsunkakon : The wave of independent foundries in the US in the mid '90 influenced and encouraged individual Thai designers to create their own type. Today a small group of independent Thai designers create fonts for their own projects. There is no formal retail outlet for their products in Thailand. Some of those young designers are my former students at Rangsit University, Bangkok University and Chulalongkorn University. It seems that at the moment only PSL and we, at Behaviour Group, are on the same page on pushing Thai fonts into commercial sale operations. PSL recently made a landmark in Thai type design history by winning a lawsuit on piracy font users and created the first awareness in Thailand on a legal copyright issue.

We also made some Thai fonts, but they are for exclusive license only. It is a long way to operate a type foundry with commercial distribution of fonts. Thai people first must separate the issue of Thai language and Thai type design. Do not get mixed up, these are two different things. Type designers never want to own any language. We only want to protect our design of the letters. It won’t get any better as long as Thai people do not value design work in general and still think of fonts as a freeware. For commercial distribution we stick with Latin fonts, because there is a market out there.

As far as typography concerns, does the Thai script allow any stylistic alterations, simplifications or additions to its character shapes?

Anake Namigamune :No problem. There are quite a number of what you call stylistic alterations in the Thai scripts, such as making them look like those of English, Chinese or even Sanskrit.

Pornprapha Phatanateacha :Thai type designers have adopted the elements of the roman type and applied them to Thai letterforms without considering the impact on the Thai language. As a result, important characteristics of the Thai letterforms have been lost because of this borrowing of Western forms. A project I am currently working on, is to design Thai letterforms that reflect Thai culture. The development of these letterforms will be translated in systematic ways. The generation of forms will be demonstrated through my design methodology.
For the stylistic development of Thai script, type designers have been experimenting to simplify or redesign styles, based on trends and influences from Western typeface designs.

Anuthin Wongsunkakon :Traditional Thai script from the past has been developed through time and today it becomes more a minimal and modern letter form just like the Latin letters. There are many opportunities to both simplify and/or embellish today's fonts. Usually, I personally design my Thai letters as an extended family to my original Latin design. I find that from this process the Thai font works better with modern typography.

The problem with Chuanpim in the 70s was that people weren’t willing to open their minds to read from something new. It was considered hard to read back then. Sornsongkarm mentioned that people were familiar with a set of fonts from school books which they had been reading for years in school. Those fonts were developed by Thai Wattanapanich, a major school supplier in Thailand. And Chunapim was something new and strange to them.

It reminds me of what the Baskerville or Helvetica went through in their days. By the way, Chunapim was inspired by the first Helvetica mania. Chao SornSongkram wanted Chunapim to be like Helvetica in term of plain and versatile use, for headline and text. Chunapim also was designed to be type set in combination with with Helvetica.

Can you describe the influence of digital technology on the graphic industry in Thailand and graphic design as an artistic and cultural representation, as well as on the thinking about visual communication in your country and culture?

Anake Namigamune : The only thing I can say is that digital technology does great harm to Thai designers of scripts and typography, if that is still a good term for this. They think less, for the sake of conveniency. Hundreds of ready made scripts are stuffed in the computer programs, waiting for users.

Nirut Krusuansombat : From what I have seen lately, it's still pretty much the same. But it is just all about new media not new design.

Anuthin Wongsunkakon : We're starting to see some new born designers and firms that do everything so wallpaper like. Nothing really ground braking. We seem to go backwards on design quality too. The crisis in late 90s really shrunk design budgets big time. Thai designers have gone nuts over the years. They don't remember how to create a good design out of small budget. I also agree with Nirut about cranky design skills on new media.

What your opinion on the current state of graphic design and typography education at the Thai design colleges and universities?

Anuthin Wongsunkakon : Many of the problems in the Thai graphic design industry lead back to design education. Most Thai people can not even relate graphic design to their life. It is all because designers don't understand how to relate graphic design to todays society (the man on the street). That is why we try to do workshops and work closely with design schools to help new designers to think out of the box.

Nirut Krusuansombat : I think design education in Thailand is not open minded yet. There is no right or wrong in design, as we already know. There are so many different ways to strike the problem, but somehow we did not learn that in school. In my school days, I hardly had a chance to think and explore something new, because of the hard sell design projects we got to do most of the time. If I were the teacher, I would let my students think and explore new things as long as whatever they come up with solves the problem.

The teacher has to be the one who brings out the talent of the student. Anything that the student can do best, he helps pushing it up to the next level on their track. Don't judge the student's work by what you like or dislike.

I also would like to see more knowledge and information exchanged. We should have more symposiums or conferences for professional designers. More group discussions, comments and suggestions in school. This way everyone will have a chance to exercise their brain cells.

Anuthin Wongsunkakon : I think it should get to the point that quality of the junior year at a leading Thai design school has no difference from a junior year of at leading schools in the US or Europe. New ways of teaching about relationships between concept and idea. Individuality that could develop a personal graphic language. Input from instructors that will help to build up a good designer attitude. Experiment, experiment and experiment... Is that too much to ask?

จิม ริชาร์ดสัน
ธันวาคม ๒๕๔๗

-----» 3 quick questions on Behaviour Group Inc. by Jim Richardson (Union Fonts UK) December 2004

Both of you studied in the US, that must have had a big impact on your work, was it where the two of you met? how did you guys link up and then how did Pongtorn get involved?

Anuthin :: Nirut, Pongtorn & I are a long time friend. We have know each other for more than 10 years. We all graduated from Rangsit University in Thailand. Nirut and I met in school, Nirut was studying to be an illustrator while I was narrowing for graphic design. We happened to take number of same required classes. That was how we get to know each other. Plus our houses happen to be about 15 minutes apart by car. Both of us were introduced to Pongtorn by one of my friends. He was going for Product Design degree at that time. In junior year Pongtorn decided to switch his major from product design to graphic design. That was how we all became close friends.

Nirut :: Yes, study in the states had a tons of impact on our work. Personally, it was a design liberation because we can do stuffs that will not get a good recognition in Bangkok. We actually picked the city over school. Anuthin and I enrolled Pratt Institute in '96 Pongtorn in late '97 for our graduate degree.
Is the studio made up of the three partners, or are there also other people there too?

Anuthin :: Originally Nirut and I started the first operation in NYC during our school years. We happened to know a person who worked at Board Of Investment of Thailand in New York. They were looking for graphic designer to do stuffs for BOI road show in Chicago. We got the job and went out to buy all new equipments other than what we already bought for school. We did not even have scanner then. The the word spread to Thai Cultural Center and Tourism Authority of Thailand in New York.

Nirut :: We operated out of our one bedroom apartment in Battery Park City just across westside highway from WTC. We did not try to make a living out of it. We looked at it as a sidekick but it was the sidekick that started it all.

Anuthin :: I carried the firm back and put it to the test in Bangkok. I teamed up with Pongtorn in Bangkok in 2000. Nirut took a job offer and moved to Ohio and then Atlanta with an offer from CNN interactive. He returned to Bangkok in 2002 to work with us. During that gap we kept things flow by doing all the work and communication via internet.We moved in this current office in downtown Bangkok almost three years ago. At this office, we have two full time designers and a few of regular freelancers.

You studied under Tony Dispigna (lucky you!) where was that? how did he influence your work?

Anuthin :: I had a chance to study with Tony at Pratt. I worked closely with him on my type design project, typography and off course my thesis which was about "Reading Ability In Digital Era; What is the face of postmodern type design?". I learned many things from him and they became my foundation on building letter form. Tony was "New York School Graphic Design" kind of a guy. He always hit me from that point of view. He was very open though, he can accept stuff from his days to Carson(at that time).

When I first started, I was crazy about individual letter. It must be the side effect and influence from digital type out bust in the mid 90s. Tony was the one that help me cool it down and made me more concern about unity of the whole set. Above all, he is a fast designer... he works fast!

You seem to have created a number of fonts, how many? over how many years?

Anuthin :: Actually, not a lot. Most of stuff out there from the early years of trial and error are embarrassing. First attempt was in 1994 at Rangsit University. I just designed with no rule. It kinda force me to become a self-though type designer. From the day I first generated a font to today, roughly about 9 years. It is so funny. Every time I look back at my old design I hate half of my work!

Nirut :: We often designed a new font to work for client projects. It is a fun thing to do for us. When we can not find one we make one. We like this idea because it helps us building our style. Instead of having fonts sit in the office, we decided to put them for end user sale.

Anuthin :: In the late 90s, I started to design Thai bitmap font (Prutt Ti Gumm). Seeing Emigre's bitmap faces like "Oakland & Emperor" made me realize what have been missing in Thai font. I also see limited number of modern Thai typeface. We think this could be a key to a new face of Thai typography. I start building my new thai font on that bitmap proportion.I also go out of my way when i draw Latin. I always have an urge to draw Thai to match with the Latin. Example pairs such as; Harbinger/PhanThaMitt, Datum/WongJonPidd and Labelo/RaBobb.

No portion of this interview text could be published in any media without direct permission from Behaviour Group Inc.

©2005 Graphic Behaviour (A member of Alternate Bangkok Council of Design.Type Behaviour is a trademark of Graphic Behaviour, a part of Behaviour Group, Thailand.