SOUTHEAST ASIAN DESIGN REFLECTS DIVERSITY
After the Icograda Regional meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, William-Harald Wong travelled extensively in South East Asia. A region he knows very well, for he set up an international network of graphic studios in these countries. William depicts here the state of design in Vietnam, Thailand and The Philippines.
Vietnam
Vietnam
underwent a dramatic transformation in the mid 1990's. The dour,
Soviet-style police state is changing into a vibrant, dynamic and
increasingly open society. However, the old mindset and the new
open-mindedness co-exist rather comfortably. It is not uncommon to find
the streets plastered with emblems of the Party next to the Swoosh and
Party officials spewing Marxism-Leninism wisdom as they embrace
consumerism.
Graphic design has a long
history in Vietnam. All currencies for Indo-China were designed and
printed in Vietnam. The country is renowned for its superlative stamp
designs, propaganda posters and publications on fine art and
photography.
When Vietnam opened its
economic door, there was the inevitable rush of international
advertising agencies into the country. These agencies were not allowed
to work for local clients but only to service multinationals. This
restriction spurred the growth of local advertising agencies and
together, they now dominate the creative industry. Unfortunately, as
the nation reaches for prosperity, only a small part of the fortunes
trickle down to the crowded design community. There are nearly 1,000
design studios - they run the gamut from small publishing houses to
signboard painters.
Fees for design services
(rather than production costs) have not even begin to appear in the
budget plans of Government or local companies. The majority of small to
medium sized companies design their own logos and do so only when
jolted by the sudden realisation that one is needed for a business
card. Many local CEOs find it too time-consuming to spend a month or so
working with a professional designer on a corporate identity programme.
Vietnam is still far from creating its own Legend or Haier, the
powerful Chinese brands.
Vietnamese
designers work in isolation and are cut off from the rest of the world
and information on graphic design is scarce. The bookshops in Hanoi and
Ho Chi Minh City - the two largest cities in Vietnam - stock the
occasional book on Western design, usually published a decade ago. Even
Chinese reference books on floral and animal/bird motifs and patterns
are rare. Only one shop carries materials for advertising agencies
(Pantone colour swatches, colour markers, even Letraset transfer
sheets!) but these are priced beyond the means of most local designers.
Training courses for graphic designers vary
between software training and the more traditional exercises of
'decorating squares and circles,' painting flowers and leaves and
studying traditional motifs. Advanced classes include designing logos,
posters, packaging, paper bags, invitation cards and product
catalogues. Even today, colleges are not equipped with computers nor do
they have access to the Internet. College libraries are poorly stocked,
often with instruction books dated from the Soviet era.
But
the Vietnamese are resourceful and exceptionally hardworking. Many hold
two, sometimes three jobs at the same time, working 12 hours, seven
days a week. And the fiercely independent, yet gentle Vietnamese spirit
will exert itself - observe the Communist Party flags fluttering atop
the stark, grey buildings, they are not the red/black combination one
expects, but in pretty shades of yellow, baby blue and pink.
Thailand
The
graphic design scene in Bangkok, Thailand, couldn't be more different.
Bangkok is a carefree, daring-do, almost-anything-goes society. Its
people; a mix of Chinese, Indian, Sri Lankan and Khmer, are laid-back
and hospitable. Thailand is dubbed 'The Land of Smiles,' but locals
prefer to call it 'Land of Laughs.' Humour and irony feature
prominently in advertising and design.
The
free-spirited environment has spawned many creative hot shops with
names like Smaller & Better Design, Blind Co., Grandma And Her
Maid, and has encouraged many independent designers to create their own
projects - exhibitions and happenings, handmade books from inkjet
printers, designing funky objects for retail, etc.
Like
Vietnam, the advertising industry dominates. Many graphic designers
support the art directors, though of late there has been a growth of
design firms specialising in branding and corporate identity. The field
is highly competitive. For big projects three bidders are usually
required to take part in a free pitch, and in some cases the number
could reach up to 10 to 15!
This Buddhist city has
undergone several reincarnations - from a sleepy backwater city, to a
boom city, to a busted city (badly hit by the Asian financial crisis in
1997) and currently as Asia's new metropolis of cool. Thailand is
experiencing a film revolution and has a booming music industry. Many
graphic designers have taken up filmmaking or are creating 'designer'
and household objects for export.
On weekends, many
graphic designers are seen at the famous Jatujak Weekend Market, the
biggest open craft and design retail and wholesale market, where they
negotiate with buyers from lifestyle shops and luxury department stores
from around the world. Ironically, the superior design quality of Thai
household objects are directly linked to the financial crisis when many
out-of-work graphic designers switched to home industries.
The Philippines
The
Philippines has always been, from the viewpoint of neighbouring
Southeast Asian countries, slightly out of the radar screen. This is
because of its perceived distant geographical location, and also
because it occasionally announces itself to be the only Christian
nation in Asia - somewhat out of synch with its largely
Taoist/Buddhist/Muslim neighbours. (Philippines, of course, is
quintessentially Asian, with many indigenous peoples and a large Muslim
population in the south).
Again, the advertising
industry reigns supreme. Because of the consumer-driven nature of its
economic growth, shopping malls and consumer-based companies generate
the most work for graphic designers. The most successful work
incorporates strong emotional values (family relationships are
important) and humour.
Jollibee, the
biggest fast-food chain in the Philippines, has beaten multinationals
such as McDonalds and Burger King at their own game by aggressively
franchising and tailoring its food to the Filipino palate. It is
successful in many parts of the world, especially where Filipinos are
concentrated. Therein lies a lesson for the rest of the region.
Filipinos
are known to be artistically and musically inclined and these inherent
characteristics have produced excellence in the entertainment industry,
performing arts, fine arts and crafts. Unfortunately, society has not
given graphic design its due recognition. Many Filipino graphic
designers, who have been educated in the USA or who are working in the
Middle East, do not return home.
In recent
years, the web design community has been highly active - there are many
community websites and online magazines for Filipino designers, e.g. www.philweavers.net, www.halfproject.com, www.kakosa.com
and others. One only need to look into these websites to realise that
there is electrifying energy and creativity zapping around in the
Philippines.
Three Countries
Diverse
as these three countries are, there are stumbling blocks common to all,
which are stifling the growth of the graphic design profession.
- Corruption and favouritism are prevalent, especially when bidding for large projects
- Free-pitching and professional ethics among graphic design practitioners are worrisome
- Clients cannot differentiate between the services offered by advertising agencies and design firms
-
Technology is moving at a rapid pace, but clients knowledge and
understanding of graphic design remain limited
- Lack of awareness of intellectual property
- All designers wrestle with the pull of trends in the West and nostalgia for an indigenous style.
Asian Design Articles
Articles
on Singapore, Malaysia and Laos have appeared in past issues of
BoardMessage. If you know of any designer or design company in Cambodia
or Myamnar (Burma), we would be interested in establishing contact.
Please e-mail any information to
About this article
This article was previously published in Icograda BoardMessage 5 - Barcelona, available in pdf format here.