ILLUSTRATION & VISUAL CULTURE
Illustrating Modern Thailand for a Global Magazine
Monocle, the London-based magazine about global affairs, business and design, regularly uses illustration to portray cities and countries. Drawing a whole country for an international audience is a particular challenge: the picture has to be recognisable to people who have never visited, and believable to people who live there.
The cliché problem
Every country has a postcard version of itself. For Thailand it might be temples, elephants, tuk-tuks and floating markets. These images are not wrong, but on their own they describe a tourist brochure, not a modern country. An editorial illustration about contemporary Thailand needs to show what has changed:
- Glass towers and the elevated train lines above Bangkok’s older shophouses.
- Co-working spaces, independent coffee roasters and design studios.
- Night markets where street food sits next to young designers selling prints and clothes.
- Motorbike taxis in their numbered vests, the real circulatory system of the city.
Research before drawing
- Walk and photograph. Small details such as shop signs, electricity cables, plastic stools and plants on balconies make a drawing feel true.
- Read the article. The illustration must support the journalist’s argument, not a general idea of the country.
- Ask locals. A five-minute conversation can save you from an embarrassing mistake with a symbol, a gesture or a uniform.
Composition for a global reader
Illustrations of places often use a few reliable structures:
- The cutaway building, showing many lives at once, floor by floor.
- The isometric map, ideal for neighbourhoods and business districts.
- The single street scene, which turns a big topic into one recognisable moment.
Respect and representation
Drawing real people and cultures carries responsibility. Avoid caricature, show variety in the people you draw, and treat religious and royal imagery with care; in Thailand these subjects are particularly sensitive.
To see how character design can carry a whole visual identity, read our case study on Urbanscapes and its city monsters. For places to see Thai design in person, see our Bangkok design scene guide.