When working in Thailand, there are moments when time seems to flow differently from the fast pace of business. You might hear traditional music drifting from a rural temple, or come across a shadow-puppet performance illuminating a quiet village night. These are not spectacles staged for tourism, but cultural practices that continue in step with everyday life.
Through our work in corporate expansion, government projects, and university collaborations, we have repeatedly encountered the quiet but powerful presence of culture. While reviewing a document summarizing the transmission of Thai folk performing arts, I found insights not only into cultural policy but also into the realities of design work in this region.
When culture becomes visible, it begins to move
The 2016 Intangible Cultural Heritage Act clarified how Thailand recognizes and supports traditional performing arts and rituals. Once registered, a cultural practice gains access to preservation support, education programs, and international promotion, placing it firmly within the national framework.
Examples include Nora dance and Nang Yai shadow puppetry. Their recognition—such as through UNESCO listings—has encouraged younger generations to take part, revitalizing local pride and strengthening the continuity of these traditions.
This re-positioning has implications far beyond culture. In business and public policy, understanding the cultural atmosphere of a place—its values, rhythms, and unspoken rules—can drastically shape the quality of a project.
This is why cultural interpretation, not just visual expression, sits at the foundation of our design work. When cultural context is ignored, misalignment inevitably follows.
But institutions cannot capture everything
Institutions inevitably “select” cultural value. Behind the officially recognized traditions are many others—stories passed down orally, small community rituals, and everyday practices that continue quietly but powerfully.
In fact, when visiting local communities, these living, unlisted traditions often feel more deeply rooted than those that appear in formal registries.
Design has a role to play here. We see it as our responsibility to help interpret and translate these less-visible cultural elements into a form that organizations and governments can understand and act upon.
Before choosing colors or typography, we first seek to understand what that culture values and what principles guide everyday decision-making.
The 2025 law reframes culture through the people who live it
A major shift occurred with the 2025 Ethnic Lifestyles Protection Act. While earlier policies focused on safeguarding the performing arts themselves, this new law centers on the dignity and rights of the people who create, inherit, and enact these cultural practices.
Language, clothing, rituals, livelihoods, land use—virtually all aspects of daily life are treated as cultural assets. The state now recognizes and supports culture at the level of lived reality.
This perspective closely aligns with my own research on social inclusion and community revitalization. It treats culture not as a product or event, but as a living system—an approach that translates directly into design practice.
Culture continues most naturally when local communities lead
The document highlighted several regional initiatives: the revival of Nang Yai, the growth of younger Nora performers, and renewed attention to local festivals. In each case, the driving force was not central authorities but local communities themselves. Government agencies acted as supporters, not directors.
This mirrors our own approach. Rather than imposing external “expert” solutions, we work to articulate and shape the value that communities and organizations already hold within themselves.
Design is not the protagonist in cultural preservation; it is the supporting role that helps continuity take shape. This, I believe, is what enables long-lasting projects.
Our case example: Designing from cultural understanding
One memorable project involved designing business tours and exchange events connecting Japanese and Thai companies. We quickly realized it could not be treated as a simple networking program. The key was how to translate cultural values so that participants could enter conversations naturally.
Thai participants tend to build warmth and trust before entering the main discussion. Japanese participants, meanwhile, prioritize schedule and structure. Acknowledging this difference, we deliberately designed the event flow: movement lines, the order of interactions, pitch formats, booth layout, and even the timing of business card exchanges.
As a result, conversations unfolded smoothly, and the outcomes—matches and joint initiatives—were more fruitful than expected.
This reaffirmed for us that culture is not a hurdle to overcome—it is a design material. It enables relationships, supports communication, and shapes the conditions for collaboration.
Our value lies in translating culture
From these reflections, our core strengths can be summarized in three points:
Understanding cultural context
A deep grasp of the values and everyday practices that shape behavior in Japan and Thailand.
Bridging government, academia, and business
Connecting cultural policy, industry, and local communities to facilitate coherent collaboration.
Turning cultural insight into actionable design
Transforming cultural capital into branding, services, and communication strategies that strengthen organizations.
Project outcomes depend heavily on how well a team understands the cultural groundwork. This is where our work finds its meaning.
Culture is an infrastructure for the future
The evolving system for folk performing arts and the 2025 law both signal a clear direction: culture is no longer treated merely as heritage from the past, but as a resource for shaping the future.
Our aim is to continue connecting people, communities, and organizations through design grounded in cultural understanding. Culture is not a backdrop—it functions like an infrastructure, supporting the future of society.
Our work is to make that invisible foundation visible, accessible, and meaningful.