Venue:
TCDC (Thai Creative Design Center)
King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang,
Silpakorn University, Rajamangala University of Technology
Directors:
Fumi Sasada (Bravis International Limited)
Takaki Mori (Design Force Co., Ltd.)
Committee members:
Yukako Ochi (Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.)
Megumi Morino (Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.)
Masahiro Fukui (Fukui Design Office)
Yufuko Suga (Kataoka & Co., Ltd.)

Sawatdii khrap! (That’s “hello!” in Thai.)
ASPaC’s touring exhibition, which helps to connect students of package design throughout Asia, arrived in Bangkok with a series of workshops and seminars.

Day 1: We started the preparation for the exhibition on arrival in Bangkok. The venue was the design facility TCDC, which is in the state-of-the-art business facility called Emporium. Every night features projection mapping at the Emporium and the streetscape seems to reflect the rapid growth and evolution of modern Bangkok. The exhibition opened at 10:00 the next morning so the committee members had to work on the display in shifts throughout the night and managed to have everything set up by early morning. After all the hard work, it was a relief to see the range of works showcased in a beautiful display, ready for the day ahead.

Day 2: The opening ceremony in the evening started with a greeting from Mr. Apisit Laistrooglai, the director at TCDC, followed by a message of gratitude from the ASPaC executive committee chairman Mr. Fumi Sasada from JPDA. The press attention was remarkable and many reporters came to interview us. The TCDC often hosts exhibitions and seminars like ours, offering a library specialized in books for design and arts from all over the world (you can use it freely for a reasonable members fee), meeting rooms and a café. The TCDC is filled with students and young designers night and day due to the volume and variety of information.

Day3: We held a lecture and workshop at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, a national university of science and technology. The board director Mr. Mori introduced JPDA, ASPaC and the workshop. Committee member Mr. Fukui then lectured about “the trend of souvenir and gift packaging in Japan”. Mr. Fukui teaches at a University and his lecture seemed to be easy to understand for the students. We were impressed by the students nodding and enthusiasm for his lecture via translator. As for the workshop, the theme was“how would you change the package design of Koala’s March if you could renew it?” Lotte Koala’s March, chocolate cream filled cookies, is also famous in Thailand. About 60 students attended this workshop and their presentations included many ideas and package designs related to their traditions and culture. We were deeply impressed by them.

Day4: We held a joint lecture and workshop for students of Silpakorn University and Rajamangala University of Technology, which are both traditional art and design universities. The venue was a lecture hall in Silpakorn University with a calm, relaxed atmosphere. It was built over 100 years ago and has been renovated many times. The “Japanese Long Running Product Design” lecture by committee member Ms. Suga gave a fresh perspective not only to the students but also the teachers since it is still rare for package design to evolve through renovation. We shared a good time and enjoyed the presentations filled with free ideas and sharp thinking by 30 students. Both Mr. Fukui and Ms. Suga brought the actual products from Japan, which stimulated the students’ interest. We realized the actual product is a source of the package design.

Day 5: We had a meeting in the afternoon with Ms. Orrasa Jirapinyo who is a leading light the graphic design field in Thailand. We exchanged opinions about the organization plan for the coming ASPaC competition next year. She studied design at Chiba University in her twenties and now supports ASPaC activities by using her command of Thai, English and Japanese to act as a bridge between countries. In the afternoon, Mr. Fumi Sasada held a lecture on “Trends of Packaging Design in Japan” at TCDC. His wonderfully clear lecture, illustrated with examples from his experience, brought cheers from the audience.

We felt that “design itself is the leading edge of trend” during our stay in Thailand. We visited downtown for further research before heading back to Japan. We would like to say thank you for all the support from The Japan Foundation and ASPaC Committees and also the warmth and kindness of everyone in Thailand and Japan.”

ASPaC（Asia Student Package Design Competition）
This project started in 2010 in Japan and Korea supported by the “ASPaC Project” committee, consisting of public institutions, companies, educational circles, experts, The Japan Foundation and Japan Package Design Association (JPDA).
Thailand and Indonesia have joined the participating countries and we are expanding our global activities such as package competitions for students, overseas touring exhibitions of excellent works, study tours for winners, and hosting the lectures and design forum conducted by experts.