NOONG OON, KIN IIM
Praseuth Banchongphakdy
Laos is a genuinely fascinating, friendly and, above all,
exciting destination, according to those who have travelled throughout
the region. It is a country where a foreigner is still welcomed and
often showered with hospitality, where people have time to talk to
people because their lives are still governed by tradition.
'Pure' and innocent
Lao
design is often categorised as being fabulously 'pure' and innocent.
There is a wonderful tradition of art, for example, in the rich
heritage and stunning temples of the old royal town of Luang Prabang.
The
graphics and advertising industries are very new in Laos, and visitors
are often surprised by just how far 'behind' and unsophisticated the
market is for this industry. With minimal domestic industry, limited
exports and a small home market, there is limited demand for packaging
design or promotional materials.
There is a Lao saying
that can be used to express the current situation in this country.
'Noong oon, kin iim,' it says. This translates as 'dress warm, eat
full.' In other words, dress only to stay warm and eat only to be full,
not dress to look good or eat to enjoy food. This saying expresses the
situation of most Lao, 80% of whom remain subsistence farmers. In such
an environment design is often considered a luxury rather than a
priority.
Little scope for design
Advertising
targeted at Lao consumers is not widely practised except by large
companies such as Pepsi or Beer Lao. This is partly due to the small
market and low purchasing power of most people, but also due to the
fact that those Lao who can receive Thai television watch it. Companies
already advertising on Thai TV therefore feel it is unnecessary to
duplicate the advertising here.
There is often little
scope for design. Shop signs are a good example. Government regulations
state that certain colours must be used on certain signs. For example,
a private shop must use red letters on a yellow background, whilst a
government shop must use white letters on a blue background. These are
the rules design considerations are not allowed! Increasingly, shops
now flaunt this regulation, but it costs them officials collect monthly
'fines' for incorrect signage.
Limited design education
In
terms of education, there are very limited opportunities to learn
design in Laos. There are 250 students enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux
Arts in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. This is the only school in
Laos that offers courses in fine arts and design. The students study
three years for a degree, or four years for a master. Ecole des Beaux
Arts is divided into two schools: The Art School offers courses in
Drawing, Traditional Motif Design, Decorative Arts, Printmaking and
Signwriting. The Sculpture School offers courses in Woodcarving,
Sculpture, Engraving (Metalwork) and Pottery.
Many
students take up these courses because there is little to do except to
study in Laos. Upon graduation there are few job opportunities in the
fields they have studied. Their hopes are to be employed as art
teachers, but because of limited places, many start their own small
stalls selling souvenirs to tourists, often a rare sight outside
Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
Opportunities for a distinctive identity
The
positive aspect about the lack of development in graphics and design is
that many great opportunities still lie ahead, and Laos still has an
opportunity to build its own, highly distinctive graphics identity.
BlueGrass
Design Group feels that the immediate opportunities here lie in
marketing rather than design. There is plenty to do if clients can see
it. One example of a marketing opportunity can be seen in the telephone
boxes around Vientiane. There is one in front of the Tai-Pan hotel, a
hotel only frequented by foreigners. Despite this, the telephone box
situated outside has no English signage. In fact, there is no signage
except a sticker saying 'chip card.' There is no mention that the
telephone belongs to Lao Telecom or that it is in fact a telephone box.
Only this month has the situation started to change Lao Telecom has
started to introduce new phone boxes that are branded.
The
arrival of the new telephone boxes shows that attitudes are changing in
Laos. BlueGrass has worked in Laos for seven years and over that time
it believes it has done a little to influence this process. There is
now more recognition of the value of logos and brand identity. The
value of good printing is also more widely recognised. When I first
came back to Laos, most printing entailed sticking photocopies onto
trees with nails! There were no billboards other than government
propaganda billboards that, at least, has changed.
No international competitors
Following
the recent closure of Kinnary Design and the proposed sale of Exprim,
it now looks as though there will be no foreign-trained design
companies in Laos apart from BlueGrass Design Group. There is another
advertising/marketing firm called Mekong Orchid, which has some foreign
staff, but they are specifically a marketing rather than design agency.
There are printing or computer companies who undertake simple design
jobs, but the staff is not adequately trained in design, only in using
design software. There is very little in-country competition for
professional design work, yet some companies source their design work
from Thailand.
How Icograda can help design in Laos
I
encourage fellow designers who wish to visit Laos to give talks or
conduct workshops at the cole des Beaux Arts or Dong Dok University
(The National University of Laos), which offers architecture. Perhaps
it is possible to offer international scholarships to talented Laotian
students who are deprived of information about the practice of graphic
design. This will enable them to return home with the knowledge and
practical experience to start a design business and employ fellow
Laotians.
Praseuth Anchongphakdy
Praseuth Banchongphakdy was born in Laos but is now an Australian citizen. After spending his childhood in Laos and Paris, he was educated in Sydney, Australia, and had a successful design career there for many years.
In 1993 Praseuth chose to switch direction, and returned to his homeland. He was motivated by a desire to do something to help his home country, one of the poorest and most underdeveloped in the world. The Lao Government had enacted reforms that allowed graphic design companies, both locally owned and foreign-owned, to start up.
In 1996 he set up his own graphic design and advertising company in Vientiane, BlueGrass Design Group. The contrast with Praseuth's previous work in Sydney could not be greater, because the market for graphics work had to be developed from scratch. Not only was demand low, but there was minimal understanding of design values or even the purpose of advertising. Furthermore, as there are no opportunities to learn graphic design in Laos, except in the workplace, it has been hard to recruit trained staff. Graphic design is unknown as a subject for study in Laos.
These challenges have been overcome, and BlueGrass has become well established in Laos. The company has worked in most media, including website design, video production, TV and radio commercials, multimedia CD's, print advertisements, books, brochures and outdoor advertising.
About this article
Article was first published in Icograda Board Message 01 Vol. 2001-2003 and is reprinted with permission.