ART TOY JOURNEY COLLECTION

DISCOVER THAILAND’S MUST-VISIT CITIES THROUGH PLAYFUL CHARACTERS IN THE TAT’S ‘ART TOY JOURNEY COLLECTION’

TEXT: CHIWIN LAOKETKIT
PHOTO COURTESY OF TAT MEDIA PRESS

(For Thai, press here)

The art toy scene is surging in popularity. Adorable, playful, and delightfully portable, many pieces are the result of extensive research, and are adapted and reimagined from the worlds of folktales, cartoons, children’s books, novels, and legends. Each piece distills the designer’s distinctive sensibility into a tangible form, emerging as toy characters, coveted collectibles, sculptural works, or even talismans reimagined for contemporary life. Together, they offer a tactile design experience that people can own, enjoy, and connect with.

Tapping into this wave, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently unveiled the ‘ART TOY JOURNEY COLLECTION’ campaign in support of its initiative to promote selected ‘must-visit’ cities across the country. These include Uttaradit, Suphan Buri, Narathiwat, Chanthaburi, and Sakon Nakhon, along with their neighboring provinces. The campaign takes local narratives from each area and reinterprets them through engaging, on-trend character designs, reflecting a new lifestyle aesthetic. This creative effort brought together two designers, Tripak Suphavatana and Mantanah Loetkornkitja, to collaborate on the project.

Pantara Nakchattre, Director of the Tourism Information Division at the TAT, told art4d that in previous collaborations with artists and designers to promote these must-visit cities, the organization has consistently supported Thai creators in producing mural art, digital art, and NFTs that express each province’s unique cultural identity. This approach has been an ongoing part of TAT’s strategy to spotlight so-called ‘secondary cities’ or ‘hidden gem destinations.’

For this edition, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) set its sights on the fan base of the artists behind the art toys, a natural match for the travel habits of a younger generation and the growing trend toward environmentally responsible tourism. Sustainability was a key consideration, with TAT offering broad creative prompts rooted in the cultural identity of each region. Designers were invited to interpret and decode these elements in their own way, transforming them into collectible works that could be carried along and enjoyed on travels across the country.

One such designer is Mantana Lertkornkitja, creator of Huuyaow, the ‘long-eared girl’ beloved by fans of both digital art and NFTs. Many may also recognize her from appearances at exhibitions, including those at the General Post Office in Bang Rak and other venues. Mantana describes her character: “Huuyaow is a little girl with puffy bangs and voluminous hair who loves eating and traveling. She usually wears a white shirt. For the TAT project, the initial idea was to create multiple sitting poses. I worked with Moo (Tripak) on selecting distinctive color pairings and made playful tweaks to the design. World Boy, by contrast, has slightly deeper colors and a more boyish personality. He carries a water canteen, prefers recycled materials, is adventurous, excitable, and a little high-energy.” Mantana also shared her own travel habits, noting her preference for solo journeys and recalling how, as a child, she often took dolls along as travel companions. She sees Huuyaow and World Boy as appealing to families, teenagers, and children, with characters designed to be taken on trips and photographed at different destinations, turning travel into a shared, playful experience.

From another perspective, Tripuck ‘Puck’ Supawattana, cartoonist and illustrator and the creator of the World Boy character, shared his impressions of the project. He described being closely involved in the production process, from selecting the soft vinyl material to designing the packaging, which was crafted from paper that glows in the dark. Tripuck also recounted a small behind-the-scenes moment from the design process:

“If I were to describe the challenge during the design phase, it would be that TAT gave us a very broad brief. That meant I had to revisit the color palette. Initially, I proposed using the provincial flag and the provincial flower, but the colors did not work well, and everyone agreed during our meeting. We decided instead to draw from the province’s cultural identity by incorporating patterns from its traditional woven textiles. This approach felt more suitable for the art toy’s clothing and could also evoke people’s memories through those small, familiar patterns.”

“I agreed with Khun Ping Mantana that our art toy platform should feature five distinct color palettes. For Suphan Buri, we imagined the smell of the earth and the sight of buffalo in the rice fields, which led us to choose a brick-red tone. For Narathiwat, with its coastal setting, we drew colors from batik fabrics. Some provinces were trickier. Sakon Nakhon, for example, was a place I had never visited, so I did quite a bit of research and discovered the province’s signature indigo-dyed textiles. Uttaradit gave me the impression of a misty town in cool mountain air, so I paired yellow with patterns inspired by rice stalks. By the time the designs were finished, I found myself wanting to visit all of these provinces, and I am sure that anyone who receives these art toys will want to take them along and photograph them during their travels.”

Returning to Pantara Nakchattrei, she explained the reception of the art toys during the Thailand Tourism Festival held this past March. The event featured a promotion where visitors could redeem an art toy by purchasing products from vendors representing different regions of Thailand. This led to the distribution of around 600 to 700 boxes during the festival. TAT hopes this lighthearted campaign will inspire travel across all regions of the country with art toys in tow. The Art Toy Journey campaign is currently running, allowing participants to redeem art toy boxes through to the end of 2025. More details can be found on the campaign’s official Facebook: 1672Travelbuddy.

facebook.com/1672Travelbuddy
facebook.com/Huuyaow
facebook.com/pppuck