What is Zine?
Zine is actually an event that originated in New York. It’s a place where artists, designers, photographers and other creatives gather to show off their handmade magazines.
How did it come to Bangkok?
My friends in Tokyo launched Here is Zine Tokyo, which has taken place for six years now. I’ve also played a part in it. After talking to them, I decided it was time to launch this in Thailand. I have invited 18 Thai designers and another 20 Japanese designers to show off their works which are all limited edition. This is the first time that the event is being held outside Japan.
As the head of a leading design company, how do you see the Thai graphic design scene?
It’s always growing and will continue to grow further in the future. There’s more to communication than just a language. The term “graphic designer” has come a long way but some people still think that it’s something related to computer programming, which is a viewpoint we want to change. While graphics are defined as a 2D-form, it is something more than that. It’s a form of communication involving different senses. Many graphic works involve speech, too, and take time to be made. Our industry is not lacking in designers, but we need people who simply love designing and can adjust their work to different fields.
What’s next for you?
I’m going to be part of Bangkok International Typographic Symposium 2013 (BITS MMXIII) as a speaker. This time I’ll be talking about fonts that have become part of our everyday usage. The starting point of my interest came when I went to a public library here in Thailand where they keep ancient documents with old fonts. I felt a connection with the past and found it interesting that here in the present we still use a lot of stuff from the past.
