In recent years, the international media has taken an interest in Thai design. Thailand is a country that only used to grace the pages of travel magazines for its sights and food, but now finds itself a design destination as visitors go there to buy items ranging from knock-offs to local brand names. The creativity of Thai advertising, movies and design is extremely impressive.

A crisis can be an opportunity, even a commercial one. The 1997 Asian financial crisis destroyed many people’s livelihoods, but also created new ones. The Thai advertising industry has always been active, and has cultivated a lot of talent. After the crisis, many of them started new careers and opened various design firms. Names like household goods brand Propaganda and clothing brand Greyhound were both created by advertising executives, who naturally have deep market knowledge.

Thai designers come from different backgrounds. Some were educated at top design schools overseas, others were born and bred in Thailand and made a name for themselves by their sheer creativity. They’re young and not necessarily mature, but they are willing to dare and aren’t afraid to fail. They can succeed in a cutthroat environment like Thailand’s design scene. As Satit Kalawantavanich, creative director of Propaganda says, constraints merely help breed creativity as it forces people to think outside the box. Propaganda is a well-known Thai designer of home goods, and has even won international awards. One of its best-known items is “One Man Shy” from the MR. P line, a human-shaped desk lamp. In true Thai humour, the on/off switch is located on the figure’s genitals.

Some Thai designers I know were not taught design at school. Some of them didn’t understand industrial design when they first started out. This looks like a weakness, but in fact is a strength. Without traditional training, these designers are not influenced by any design theories and simply use their gut and aesthetics to design items, giving contemporary Thai design a feeling of being different and fresh.

The government is also trying to promote creative industries in Thailand. A decade ago, few young people studied design or other subjects that were not traditionally “money-making” ones. Today, however, design is a hot course in universities. The government also opened the Thailand Creative & Design Center in the Emporium mall, which houses a useful design library for aspiring designers. Thai design is also successful because of Thai people’s entrepreneurial spirit. For example, the newly revamped Siam Center is full of small shops selling things by local designers, from clothes to homeware. Some of them even offer shipping services. And with its 9,000 stalls, Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market is another popular testing ground for young designers.

There is an adage in the world of design: the more local something is, the more global it is. Indigenous culture is not a constraint, but in fact is something that can be harnessed to making a product successful if translated properly to foreign audiences. Thai design is steeped in tradition, but smart designers don’t just simply sell the exoticism of these traditions. Instead, they will capitalise on it and repackage it to make quality goods that are attractive to a Western aesthetic. These include designers such as Planet 2001 and Yothaka. I particularly like lamps designed by Korakot Aromdee, a Bangkok-based designer who is the son of a fisherman. Inspired by the woven fishnets of his hometown, he creates lamps that bridge Thai traditions with modern design, while also bringing extra income to his hometown.