The influence of digital technology on modern Thai typography : transcustomary knowledge in modern Thai typography and design in the twentieth century : impacts on Thai culture and identity : Massey University of Wellington

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Date
2015
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Massey University
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Abstract
The terms “cultural” and “political” nationalism refers to the distinctive value in diversity in a condition of a nation, where the majority of resident population are indigenous peoples like Thailand, a non-­-colonised country, ethnic groups of people are mostly cultural orientated. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word diversity is understood as “the condition of being different”. Coming from to live in New Zealand for over a decade, I’ve had multicultural experiences by living in the significant multicultural atmosphere where customs and traditions of different races and ethnicities live together. Living in the same condition might start to isolate cultural value at the current era. In the article “Workforce America” by Marilyn Loden and Judy Rosener describe a crucial mistake many people make with “race” and “culture” is to mistakenly think of the meaning of these two to be the same when we talk about diversity reinforces stereotypes and promotes “race” and “culture” as an "us versus them" (Loden & Rosener, 1991). Loden and Rosener also demonstrate value of diversity through four difference dimensions of diversity consist of personality, internal dimensions, external dimensions, and organisational dimensions. Interestingly, according to these dimensions of diversity, primary dimensions are things that we cannot change, which include age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical qualities, and sexual orientation. These are uniquely categorised described as “ethnicity and race identification” (Loden & Rosener, 1991). To draw a connection of these diversity of dimensions to the area of typography and letterform, French philosopher Jacques Derrida describes aesthetics of writing in his 1967 book, Of Grammatology, Derrida wrote against this arbitrary distinction between speech and writing, and emphasized on how written symbols are also legitimate signifiers in themselves. These linguistic variations are uniquely personalized-­- aesthetics are inimitable (Derrida, 2013). As being contemporary typographer/designer, I’m always interested in how the past informs the present. My design proposition is to examine cultural value appears in creative framework as the perception of typographer and graphic designer of the modern era could dictate the aesthetics of letterform, and how this sensory information is valued in a present condition.
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Thai type, Design, Social aspects, Type and type-founding, Digital techniques, Western consumerism, Traditional and non-traditional, Western typography methodology, Thai typographic methodology, Unprecedented, Preservation, Looping terminal, Buddhist philosophy, Materiality, Memorialization, Design metaphor
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