Design Research Day was a specific programme within Bangkok Design Week 2025 that showcased new designs and research last month. The day featured presentations aimed to inspire and spark new possibilities in Thailand's creative industries.
Among 10 projects presented at Design Research Day, the most outstanding were -- "A Game Based Learning Innovation Using Virtual And Augmented Reality To Foster Appreciation Of Thai Arts And Culture In Early Adolescents"; "The Future Of Menstrual Taboos In The Workplace"; and "Muland: A Virtual Reality Metelu Experience".
Project: A Game Based Learning Innovation Using Virtual And Augmented Reality To Foster Appreciation Of Thai Arts And Culture In Early Adolescents
Researcher: Yanalyn Phakpeain
Product Designer: Vicharuj Thamvorapol
As a local from Sukhothai, Yanalyn was surprised to see many intriguing sculptures when she visited Ramkhamhaeng National Museum. That experience inspired her to create a project to spark interest in local Thai art and culture among children aged 10 to 15.
"Even though I am from Sukhothai, I hadn't seen those sculptures before. So I decided to create something that would help young people access Sukhothai art and culture. The project aims to help young people value Thai art and culture," said Yanalyn.
From her research, Yanalyn discovered that while some students may visit museums in Sukhothai, they usually do not recognise sculptures there. According to her research, young people preferred to learn from toys, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) tools, while books ranked last.
Yanalyn designed four activities that allowed 36 students in Sukhothai to engage with local arts and culture. The first activity, "Hunting And Solving Mysteries In The Museum", started with watching VR and AR videos featuring two characters, Sukho and Uthai, who tell stories about the museum and local sculptures. After that, students were asked to answer questions about Sukhothai art.
The second activity, "Searching For The Toy Muse", is a game in which students dig in kinetic sand to search for local art characters such as Makorn, Yak Thrawaban (The Gatekeeper Giant), Singha and Garuda. After students find a character, they can use their phone to scan the attached QR code and learn more about them.
The third activity, "Body Parts Swap For Creativity", allowed young participants to switch body parts of local art characters to make a new one. Switching body parts was also how local artists created a different character.
The last activity, "Creating Artwork For Display", allowed young participants to draw their own characters inspired by local sculptures.
Yanalyn Phakpeain and Vicharuj Thamvorapol.
After all activities were completed, Yanalyn evaluated the results and discovered that young participants did not feel Thai art and culture was outdated. They were interested in it and proud of Sukhothai art and culture.
Using positive feedback from students, Yanalyn worked with Vicharuj Thamvorapol, a product designer, to launch Toy Muse, a range of six toy characters inspired by Sukhothai sculptures -- Makorn, Giant, Singha, Garuda, Na Karn and Makara Naga. The toys can also be reassembled into 120 new forms.
Products by Toy Muse have sold out at many events. Both Yanalyn and Vicharuj aim to introduce these toys to international customers at airports and international fairs.
"We are planning to launch characters inspired by art from different eras such as Ayutthaya, Dvaravati and Srivijaya. We will have a collaboration with famous toy designer Jwon as well," said Yanalyn.
Buttons to adjust the level of heat.
Project: The Future Of Menstrual Taboos In The Workplace
Designer: Vethanee Rujikajorn
Vethanee experienced menstrual cramps at a young age and noticed that her mother and sisters also suffered also. Her mother and Vethanee even have to take days off when they have their period. As a result, Vethanee designed a special chair to help ease pain from menstrual cramps.
The chair is a part of her Master's degree thesis titled "The Future Of Menstrual Taboos In The Workplace" at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore.
The form of the chair was inspired by flowers to represent femininity. Polyester and wool are the main materials because they are breathable fabrics. To relieve cramps and pain, the chair features heating coils that can provide warmth to the lower abdomen and back. There are buttons to adjust the level of heat to that which the user feels comfortable with. A user will feel relaxed while sitting on it just like a massage chair.
Vethanee's idea is for the chair to be used in the recreation area of a co-working space office.
Vethanee Rujikajorn.
"The chair is designed for females in a co-working space, where staff can sit wherever they want, unlike traditional offices. The chair can be placed in a recreation area in full view of all staff members," said Vethanee.
"I hope that men will be more aware of issues of menstrual cramps, so both genders can talk about it normally. Female staff will not have to pretend that they are sick from other symptoms while they actually have menstrual cramps. Though the chair has not been made, I hope the idea will inspire people to be less biased against working women during their menstruation cycle."
A VR image of King Taksin Shrine.
Project: Muland: A Virtual Reality Metelu Experience
Project CTO: Pongphak Sanguandeekul
Pongphak and his team designed an app named Muland for people who believe in the supernatural. Muland offers several services such as chatting with fortune tellers, predicting dreams, performing rituals for removing bad karma and worshipping deities.
"Although many websites provide services regarding supernatural, our team believes Muland can offer more convenience," said Pongphak.
Muland also has VR videos of three famous sacred places -- Wat Arun Ratchawararam in Bangkok; Ah-Kong Sian Pae Shrine in Pathum Thani; and Khamchanod Temple in Udon Thani.
"With Muland, users can see the King Taksin Shrine in Wat Arun. From interviews after using the app, many people were satisfied with the VR feature of King Taksin Shrine and liked to see offerings in VR format," said Pongphak. Besides VR videos, Muland offers a Line account which helps users contact sacred places to make appointments for merit making or for performing rituals to remove bad karma.
Pongphak Sanguandeekul. (Photos: Design Research Day 2025)
Although the Muland app helps users conveniently participate in sacred ceremonies, some people are sceptical about whether participating through the app will have the same sacredness as when people actually visit the site.
"One of our team members has connections with many temples nationwide. The Muland app will be launched in the middle of the year and we hope itcan gain 30,000 to 50,000 users per month," said Pongphak.
