Siam Attariya

Interview with Siam Attariya

Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?

I’ve always wanted to design something since I was a kid. Even that time I was not quite sure what I actually wanted to do. So, I started to focus on the architecture first and it was too complicated for me so my interest moved to communication design and advertising.

Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

Our company is Pink Blue Black & Orange, found in 1997. We used to work in one of the most famous design company in Thailand called 'Propaganda' before, my partner Vichean was one of the founder of Propaganda. We were working together since 1994. Our service are branding, investor communication, and other printed material including exhibition. We won more than 40 awards both in Thailand and abroad.

What is "design" for you?

Design is the way to create conditions in order to create a desired result and to make the most out of limitations.

What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?

I prefer exhibition, it requires a lot of elements to deliver the content and to create a unique experience.

When do you feel the most creative?

When I truly understand briefings from clients' requirements. So, I could find the possibilities out of them.

What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?

I am always curious and I enjoy to explore the new possibilities.

What makes a design successful?

It can relate to people on emotional levels and create a solution that makes lives better.

From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?

For graphic designers, we send some messages to the public and those messages affect people in one way or the others. And during the process of design, we have to be concerned about the materials in our works that shouldn't harm the environment as well.

How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?

Technologies help designers to find the new opportunities to create something that they couldn't do before. And people who use technologies can design something by themselves as well. Designers should develop some special skill to survive in this transformation era.

When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?

I curated a poster exhibition in 2016 at TCDC COMMONS in Bangkok, Thailand. I hope that I could have my next show in Bangkok Design Week 2019 at the beginning of next year.

Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

I love to see people, especially their emotion/reaction to different kinds of situations. I use that insight in my works to create something that relates to people emotion. So, my sources of inspiration are people around me and in society.

How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?

I have no style, I use different styles depending on each project. In many of my projects, I use the sense of humor as much as I can and I try to make the design look simple with a little twist.

Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?

I live in Bangkok, the city that has a great mix of cultures and people. You can find different kind of styles in almost everything. The city has a lot of energy and chaotic. We have a lot of creative things in daily life, some good and mostly bad. But if you understand the spirit of the city and go flow with it, it is a huge source of inspiration.

How do you work with companies?

Most of our clients, we’ve worked for them for long times and some for more than 10 years. Our clients have the same vision like us, we work together like partners/friends.

What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?

No good design, no good client. What makes design great are many factors and take a lot of efforts. The process of design needs a creative environment and it’s also how designers work together with clients. It is like every relationship, which is based on trust and respect, it must have the same goal and go in the same direction. Working together, sharing ideas and listen to each other and etc. will shift the design to another level.

Can you talk a little about your design process?

I listen to clients really carefully. I ask what I don't understand and try to find the information about the requirement as much as I can. I study competitor's works and find the way to fill the gap that creates the new opportunity for our clients. I write down words that relate to projects. And from those words, we often got the direction.

What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?

1. Antique Chinese medicine cabinet that has a lot of drawers.2. Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman3. Rover Mini4. Antique wood theatre seats5. Antique Globe

Can you describe a day in your life?

I wake up at 5.30 am and send my kids to schools, then go to the office. And I start working by checking emails and then review the projects with my team until night time (avoid the traffic at rush hours). After that, I go home.

From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?

The positive is I could see things and connect things quite clearly. It makes me flexible and handling problems quite well. The negative is it requires a lot of energies in each project, sometimes it makes life harder than it should be.

Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?

I mostly use Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop. I just tried Adobe Muse to create our new website. I always search the keyword of the project in Google to find the related subjects or see how other designers solve the problems.

Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?

I make the priority of projects and estimate working hours on them. I'll not finish until their deadlines.

What was your most important job experience?

In 2016, I have my first exhibition design project at the beginning of the year. Finally, I designed 3 exhibitions on that year. It was the most important experience for me to do something new and luckily they were quite great.

Who are some of your clients?

Bangkok Bank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Siam Commercial Bank, Thailand Creative and Design Center, Chevron, etc.

What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?

Exhibition design, I'm quite new for this job and I have a lot to learn.

What are your future plans? What is next for you?

I try to work in different media such as film, motion graphic, and hopefully do more exhibition designs.

Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?

We are going to build a brand that's lived for a half-century.

Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

Please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pinkblueblackorange

Extended Interview with Siam Attariya

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

I graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a degree in art education. My first job was a graphic designer at Propaganda, working for clients and designed some products for Propaganda shop, located in Bangkok and exported worldwide. After that, I joined Pink Blue Black & Orange, from 1997 until now.

How did you become a designer?

I like the way design works, finding new possibilities and making things better. Problem-solving always make me fun.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

I chose to be a designer since I was a child, at that time I wasn't quite sure what kind of designer I wanted to be. I love product design, architect, advertising, fashion, graphic, animation and so on, I truly love design.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

I mostly design books, logos, calendars, all about graphic design but I try to work more on exhibition, interior and new media such as interactive or website.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

Never stop learning, always curious about everything, work hard and have fun.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

Good designer make things better, while great designer makes lives better.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

I focus on the impact of design on people in the emotional level, the reason of its existing that make people lives better

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

Good design can save a lot of money and make more money. Investment in good design generates more economic and sustainable value as the good design makes a product useful, understandable, aesthetic, valuable and meaningful through the thorough thinking process regarding its value, cost, the reason of existing, market need and benefit so on and so forth.

What is your day to day look like?

I'd like to design the school book for children to help them have more fun and more creative along the process of learning.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

Try new things in many new ways, improve and evaluate our design all the time.

What is your biggest design work?

I like Colors magazine by Tibal Kalman. It shows me the power of graphic design in term of creating impact.

Who is your favourite designer?

Creativities unfold 2015 is my favorite project. This project allows me to try something new such as interactive media, graphic environment, ePub, and social media activities. I've learned a lot from this project.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

Find the better solution to the same problem. Create new possibilities beyond the limitation. Make the most impact out of the least resources.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

Design is the process of defining and creating situation or product that leads to the expected result.

What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?

My boss and partner, Mr.Vichean Tow. I've worked with him since I left the university until now.