When someone mentions the Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan, the image that pops up in our heads is that of a black furry bear, with circular red cheeks and wide eyes. The mascot is called Kumamon, and it represents the success of character design, associating a recognisable image with a place -- a symbol that works culturally as well as economically. Kumamon was estimated to generate over 123 billion yen (37.7 billion baht) in income in 2014, according to the Bank of Japan, and functions as an effective tourism promoter.
When mentioning provinces in Thailand -- even a popular city like Bangkok or Phuket -- do we have any recognisable mascot or symbol?
Work is on the way to make that happen. The Character Design Workshop, held by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa), as part of their attempt to promote human-resources development in digital content, has been formed to encourage creativity in character design. Starting with the workshop on "Characters Of Provinces In Thailand" in August 2016, there were 325 designers -- students and the general public -- participating in the programme.
Twenty finalists have now been selected by Depa for professional training in Japan. The best five have had a chance to work for one month at Gale Studio, a renowned animation studio in Korea that designed the character Pororo.
Most designers came up with the characters based on the cultural signature of each province, giving them creative twists.
Tirawat Thanatiphukhon, a graphic designer, created Pupu, a character inspired by locales and cuisine in his home province of Samut Prakan. Pupu is a combination of seagull and pla salid (gourami), the well-known fish of the province; the cheeks of the character are a golden colour, representing the marigold, the provincial flower, while its tail is inspired by the shape of the lotus.
"The Lotus Festival is a tradition of the Bang Pli district in Samut Prakan," he said, explaining that Bang Pli's residents are made up of Thais, Lao, and Mon, so the tail of Pupu has three lobes representing three ethnic groups.
From Nakhon Sawan, Boragon is a character that made it to the top five, created by Ekaraj Worasamutprakarn, lecturer and artist at Ban Somdejchaopraya Rajabhat University. The half-human, half-dragon was inspired by the boisterous Dragon Parade of the province that the designer has seen since he was a child.
Traffic Happy Friends perfectly describes Bangkok. SASIIWMON BOONRUANG
"The name Boragon stands for both Boraphet, the province's best-known pond, and dragon, a symbol of Nakhon Sawan," he said.
Bangkok, meanwhile, is a capital known around the world but that has never been symbolised by any character. Graphic designer Khemphong Rungsawang took one of the more notorious aspects of the city -- the traffic -- and turned his experience into a character.
Called Traffic Happy Friends, this is a set of three characters in red, yellow and green, resembling the traffic lights. The three characters have their distinct personalities and the designer also made them into Line stickers.
"Traffic is what we encounter every day, so I wanted to make something serious into a more relaxing character," said Khemphong, saying that he is not a professional in character design but that the workshop has broadened his view and encouraged him to do something beyond his expertise.
Nattapon Nimmanphatcharin, director of Depa, said that digital content is a potential export industry, as a market survey in 2015 found that the total market was valued at over 12 billion baht, with the export value around 1.5 billion baht.
"The digital content keeps growing, especially in the field of animation and gaming, as Thai creative works have gained more acceptance and can connect with contemporary Thai characteristics," said Nattapon.
Amid the talk of Thailand 4.0, in which the country is driven by innovation and technology, the Character Design Workshop aims to improve skills and upgrade Thai character design to the world-class level, with international recognition.
Nakhon Sawan's character Boragon by Ekaraj Worasamutprakarn won top five finalists character design. SASIWIMOL BOONRUANG
Depa project manager Monchai Sricharoensak said that initially the programme expected to attract around a hundred applicants, but there were in fact more than 300.
"All of the applicants have an opportunity to join a workshop for basic knowledge of character design, creativity and training, and after that 20 creators were selected to visit Japan's Ghibli Studio to further develop their characters and learn how to make their characters coincide with the nature of the provinces and the products of each province. They also visited the Pokémon Cafe, learning a new business model.
One thing they learn from the programme is the story creation for characters, said Monchai. "Character is a persona -- it should represent the products that match."
They should also have a background. The famous Kumamon of Japan's Kumamoto is shaped as a bear, to reflect the meaning of the prefecture. Thailand has plenty of tales and myths waiting to be turned into modern icons that benefit tourism and image-making; it's just that they haven't been promoted systematically.
Another design from the workshop is Svettaporn Iresuriya's HuadNoii, a character inspired by the Phi Ta Khon masked festival in Loei.
"I came up with a back story for Huad Noii," said the designer. "He's a good-humoured ghost who has no one to play with, so he has to disguise himself going out to the festival to play and dance with others.
From Khon Kaen province comes Khon Little Dinosaur, designed by Pimapsorn Chaisiri. The character is inspired by Siamotyrannus Isanensis, a new species of dinosaur found in the province. Its tail is decked with a golden shower, the symbol of Khon Kaen, while the loincloth on his waist shows the essence of the Northeast.
According to Depa, the copyright belongs to the designers who create the works. They can sell their characters to private companies, or offer them to a public organisation for a period of one year.
Depa serves as a co-ordinator for the designers and the local organisations, and the Department of Tourism is in discussion with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the provinces on how to display the mascots in travel spots.
Wanasiri Morakul, director-general of the Department of Tourism, said the partnership is a result of the government's focus on a creative economy, which can add value to all industries, especially tourism.
"This is in line with Depa's Character Design Workshop, and together we will promote these characters to support tourism in the future," she said.
Inspired by the Ghost Festival, HuadNoii represents Lei province. SASIWIMOL BOONRUANG
Tirawat Thanatiphukhon designed Pupu, a character for Samut Prakan. SASIIWMON BOONRUANG
Characters by young Thai designers. SASIIWMON BOONRUANG
