A joint effort by the Office of Knowledge Management and Development (OKMD) and Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC), the annual symposium “Creativities Unfold, Bangkok 2006-07 – Perspectives on Value Creation” was be held in Bangkok, Thailand from the 6th till the 8th of October 2006.
The objective of the symposium was to provide economists, entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and designers an insight into the innovative blend of ‘capital’ and ‘creativity’ together with ‘cultural assets’ and ‘unique skills’ – which can be transformed into a distinctive attribute of a product (or service) that is difficult to imitate. The event also means a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and designers to share knowledge and experience as well as to develop new collaborations beneficial to emerging Value Creation Economy.
Sociologist Francesco Morace and concept designer Lucia Chrometzka of Future Concept Lab, spoke on the second day of the three-day international symposium, presenting the Trends of Chinese Values and Western Demands, based on the findings of the Future Venues Project, a strategic research for Thailand commissioned by OKMD. FCL collected observations of Chinese daily life in two cities, Beijing and Shanghai and presented different pictures of consumers’ behaviours. Morace and Chrometzka described how these findings relates to Thailand and suggested that Thailand needs to identify the cultural assets hidden in Thai culture, the genius loci in order to compete internationally and attract consumers. There are three examples of such consumer groups most likely to be interested in the values proposed by Thailand (products, services, experiences): The “unique sons” of China, the “mind builders” of India, and the “pleasure growers” of the west.
The final part of the presentation focus on three possibilities for value creation in Thailand:
“Hypersense” as the Asian capacity to construct vital experiences of poetic and harmonious sensibilities. This aesthetic, for example, leads to cosmetics, healthcare, fashion and other industries. “Refined Pollination” which leverages the ethnic and exotic interacting with elements of global culture creates artistic visions based on an evolving equilibrium of refinement, elegance, cleanliness and perfection.“Exotic Care” which elaborates on the idea of serene aesthetics to offer well-being and relaxation to customers living in increasingly stressful cities around the world.
Other speakers included Industrial Designer Yves Behar, Garrick Jones of Ludic group, Shubhankar Ray, Creative Director of Camper Shoes, Erik Kessels, Creative Director of KesselsKramer, innovation guru Tom Kelly of IDEO, Dror Benshetrit of Studio Dror and Product Designer, Sam Buxton.
