Thai culture in the air

A traditional Thai pattern is reinterpreted on an aeroplane's tail design

Published on January 5, 2008

Thai culture in the air

New A320 at Suvarnabhumi Airport

A Chiang Mai art student has literally left his mark - his unique version of a traditional pattern called lai kanok - on Thai AirAsia's new Airbus 320 model, as the result of his victory in an aircraft-design competition held by the fast-growing budget airline.

Simple and appealing, the red elegant pattern wrapping around Asia's latest Airbus 320's tail could be seen flying around East and Southeast Asian countries.

Earlier this month, Ekkawich Ariyawongsanukul (Peet to his friends), got a chance to fly to Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France, for a field trip and to receive a brand new A320 Airbus - with his kanok pattern painted on - bought by Thai AirAsia.

"Less is more", says Ekkawich, a 22-year-old art student from Chiang Mai University, explaining the idea behind his winning design.

Ekkawich says that instead of putting the pattern all over the body of the aircraft, he chose to decorate only the tail.

"When people see an aircraft in the sky, they seem to pay a lot of attention to the tail," says the art student.

Ekkawich applied the kanok pattern because it is instantly recognisable to Thais, and well matches the logo of Thai AirAsia.

It took Ekkawich about a week to complete the design. As part of the research before creating a design, he visited a library to study about the kanok.

"Before I was able to create my own design, I had to understand what the real particularities of kanok are, how they resembled fabric that might be found in a temple. Eventually, I came up with my own basic concept."

From the study, Ekkawich found the tradition kanok seems to have a of curved lines and delicate detail. But to further his "less is more" concept, he created a pattern that he would rather have called a "contemporary kanok".

"All the complicated curves and lines are cut out, leaving only the simple filigree that is easy to look and understand. A design that is too complex would make it more local art not international and modern."

Though his pattern may look more like an unfinished work, Ekkawich says that he intended to make it that way to convey the abilities of AirAsia, which will keep developing.

The colours used in the work are only red and white - Ekkawich wanted to include only the two colours of the airline in his art.

"I do not want my work to distract people from the established brand of the company. Other colours (like green) would have confused people about the image of the airline since they are already familiar with its use of red and white."

Finally, after four sketches on the paper were transformed to the final design on a computer programme. The result was a work that beat out all other 136 designs submitted designs from all universities nationwide.

Suchart Wongthong, a Thai well-known watercolour artist and a judge in the contest, says Ekkawich's design is outstanding due to the effective uses of blank space within in his kanok pattern.

"While other works are so cramped with detail and colours, the fewer components in this work, like pattern and colour used, make it visible and easy to mention the airline in the far distance and in a short moment," says Suchart.

"Pictures containing a lot of elements are suitable for looking at a at a close range, but in this case the design could only be seen from far away."

Others judges were National Artist Naowarat Pongpaibool, who also conducted a Thai poem to be put on the front entrance of the aircraft, and Thammasat University's Thai Khadi Research Institute Anucha Thirakanont.

The prize Ekkawich received was not only a trip to France. As the winner of the competition, he and his family will receive free airfare for one year to any of Thai AirAsia's domestic and international destinations.

Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld says the A320 Airbus with Ekkawich's design and Naowarat's poem is now in its service for an AirAsia routes to Hat Yai, Shenzhen, and Macau.

"Ekkawich's Airbus is the third out of the company's firm order of 40 new A320 Airbus aircraft, which will replace the airline's old Boeing 737-300s. It is also the first aircraft in the world which bare the painting of students and a poem of a National Artist on its body," says Tassapon.

Watchara Saengsrisin

The Nation