Being the Governor of Bangkok and pleasing everyone is an impossible task. Being a designer and pleasing everyone is an impossible task. Put the two together, and one wonders whether or not there is a mathematical equation to multiply impossible with impossible.

For years, looking up from the skywalk near Pathumwan intersection, you would see a crusty old banner saying “Bangkok: City of Life.” It had been designed under Governor Apirak Kosayodhin, who left office sixteen years ago. In between the text was a symbol inspired by the “lai pracham yam” Thai pattern. In the years since it was put up, the banner had turned increasingly faint and grey. But it also became a popular tourist destination, a place for Instagrammers from abroad to announce that they had reached the nation’s capital. 

At some point, however, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had to make a decision about what to do with the banner; it had deteriorated to the point where it was barely readable. The BMA had recently spent 3 million baht commissioning a new corporate identity for Bangkok. In came a new specifically-designed font, inspired by the writing of Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong, and a bold new color scheme. The city decided that this new brand identity would be put to good use to replace the old Bangkok banner. 

Click here to read the full piece at Thai Enquirer.