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.
Leave a Reply