Project 2: Bangkok Olympic Bid
Research:
Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭
- Capital city located on the delta of the Chao Phraya River, about 25 miles from the Gulf of Thailand
- bustling, crowded city, with temples, factories, shops, and homes juxtaposed along its roads and canals
- major tourist destination, noted for bountiful cultural attractions and a nightlife that includes a flourishing sex trade
- derived from a name that dates to the time before the city was built — the village or district (bang) of wild plums (makok)
- Population: more than 9 million people, or close to 13% of the country’s population
- most of the city’s population are ethnic Thais
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok Metropolis):
translated as “City of Angels”
- “The City of the Gods”
- “The Great City”
- “The Residence of the Emerald Buddha”
- “The Impregnable City of God Indra”
- “The Grand Capital of the World Endowed with Nine Precious Gems”
- “The Happy City Abounding in Enormous Royal Palaces Which Resemble the Heavenly Abode Wherein Dwell the Reincarnated Gods”
The Landscape:
- the climate is hot throughout the year, ranging from 77 °F in the “cold” season in December to 86 °F at the height of the hot season in April
- throughout the city, walled Buddhist temples and monasteries called wats, often sumptuously ornamented, serve as focal points for religious, cultural, and even commercial life
- home to some of the most beautiful temples and ancient buildings in the world
Culture:
- the modern and traditional sensibilities so intrinsic to Thai culture are crammed together in one space
- a silhouette of city skyscrapers overlooking ancient temples
- Buddhism is the most prevalent religion in the country with the faith reflected in the traditions and architecture dotted throughout the city
- incredible temples sitting by the river and thousands of Buddha statues scattered throughout Bangkok
- food, festivals and fantastic landmarks together mean that Bangkok is a first-rate city of culture
- The Giant Swing - religious structure
Landmarks:
- Wat Pho temple (‘Temple of the Reclining Buddha’) - 150 ft long, covered in gold leaf
- The Grand Palace - consists of not only royal and throne halls, but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha
- Wat Arun - ‘Temple of Dawn’, made up of colorfully decorated spires and stands majestically over the water
- Wat Benchamabophit - ‘Marble Temple’, white walls and a red-stepped roof, the architectural symmetry of the building makes this a national treasure; 52 Buddha statues
Mindmap:
Initial Sketches:
50 Sketches:
3 Black & White Logos:
Black & White Type Trials:
Final Logo Revision:
Color Trials:
Final Logo:
Rationale:
Bangkok has many names one of which is “The City of the Gods.” For my logo, i wanted to capture the history of the city while also thinking about the future. Bangkok has a City Seal that was created in 1938. On the emblem is Phra Indr, the king of Svarga (Heaven) and the Devas (gods), seated on a four tusked white elephant with a cloud of dust beneath its feet. This emblem represents a strong meaning of Bangkok’s history. I wanted to create a cloud icon to replicate the emblem and the cloud art that is seen throughout Thailand. Bangkok is also a very fast moving city so I thought the fluid lines throughout the cloud created movement. I created several different sketches and orientations of the cloud in order to strengthen my overall design. I wanted to implicate the year 2036 into the logo itself so I blended in the ‘36’ into the cloud design. I decided to use a dark green color and a gold gradient to reflect summer-like colors and represent the gold color used throughout the city’s architecture and the color of the City Seal. I believe that Bangkok will be a growing and prosperous city in the future so I wanted to use the gold color to represent power, which also resembles the gold detailing in the city’s temples. I felt as though my hand drawn Olympic logo deserved a unique typeface, so I created my own typeface to create a balance with the cloud design.
