As soon as you step off the plane a hot humid air hits you in the face, the smells are so exotic and warm... its more of a sensation that a smell actually. Its intoxicating.
The food, the people, the colours and the environment. Thailand is just stunning, and so entirely different from the U.K. People smile, everywhere.
What was your favourite place there?
I went on a tour of the area and jungle, we came across rivers which led onto stunning waterfalls and blue lakes. Right in the middle of these trees. They were just this surprise waiting around a corner that you couldn't see coming or ever expect. It was like stumbling across multiple hidden tropical paradises!
What was your most memorable experience and why?
Boat trips through jungle, water, and elephant rides through the country.
What colours stood out to you?
Blues and greens during the day and warm bright oranges, purples and red sunsets. The colors are very strong and vibrant. It makes the U.K look like a grey, green mush!
What did you eat and drink?
Fruits, meats and hotel provided foods. The streets are full of local food markets and stalls where people shout and ask you to purchase their product. Some of the stalls are very clean and beautiful with displays of cut fruits and protective covers. While others are simple street vendors with flys buzzing around the produce. One man was cutting mangoes into the shape of flowers and covering them in a sticky red sugar.
What cultural or religious significant differences did you enjoy?
Well, Thai people are typically buddhist, but I believe the region is open to variations of eastern based religion and culture. I believe the King is buddhist (Theravada) . There are a lot of "wats" or temples and buildings of detailed architecture and a lot of statues and representations of the various buddhas etc. Visually it embraces and celebrates religious and cultural strengths which seem to unite the region. Tourists come to visit the temples which surprisingly, some of them are very unusual. There is one that has comic paintings inside of a beautiful white temple. It doesn't "go" at all!
Examples of existing Thai tourism posters.
I have included the image above as an example of what I believe is a weak tourism poster. There is too much going on in the image, text on angles, various typefaces etc. Its all far too busy and cheap looking, which in effect therefore cheapens the destination. The text isn't balanced across the lower section, and the cut off point being above centre (eyeliner) although "correct" in some approaches to design creates an unequality in the thirds as there is also this white third seen below full of logos. This poster combines all the worst Ideas in design, in my opinion!
The two images above seem incredibly similar, the therefore have the same strengths and weaknesses.
I particularly like the colour scheme and imagery of the Thailand poster, and this is the sort of image I was hoping to create through a combination of techniques and processes for my own Tourism poster. I have attempted to create elephant stamps for sillhouettes and water patterns in lino.
The weaknesses in both images to me, stem from the darkness. I would like to create something a little brighter and less dusky.
Initial research and Ideas in sketchbook
A few pages from my sketchbook, considering colors, typicaly promoted elements of travel to Thailand, mostly this seems to be food, scenery and cultural.
Visually this is communicated through rich colors, bold lines and focus on sunsets, skies, silhouettes. emotive Images that stimulate intrigue and exotic mystery etc.
Exploring colour and type
In my sketchbook I have begun to explore colour through use of vibrant inks. attempting to recreate a sense of the exotic, and key elements noted in visuals promoting thailand.
Cutting letters from my abstract/expressionist ink images to create a base of semiotic typography.
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