The Design Process of Souvenirs by using the Inspiration of Arts and Culture in the South of Thailand

Abstract

This research aims to study 1) the design process of souvenirs by using the inspiration of arts and culture in the south of Thailand and 2) the creation of souvenirs’ prototypes. The process of the research is as follows: step 1) to collect the data, purposive sampling method was usedto select 5 experts of arts and culture in the south of Thailand. An open-ended questionnairewas used to ask the opinions of the expertsabout concepts of arts and culture in the south of Thailand. Step 2) the concepts ofarts and culture in the south of Thailand were divided into 9 groupsbased on materials used and processeswhich are (a) 12 Thai zodiac sign (b) leather carving of the shadow puppet (c) threading Nora beads (d) tie dye clothing (e) Batik clothing (f) Hang Aoanweaving – weaving fresh palm leaves (g) Krajudweaving – weaving a family of plants as well as reed (h) pottery craft and (i) Malay arts. The souvenir’s prototypeswere designed and draftedby usingtheabove materials and processes.Step 3) after designing and drafting the souvenirs’prototypes, rating scale questions were used to ask the opinions and suggestions of 5 experts which were used to develop the souvenir design. Step 4) the souvenirs’ prototypeswereproduced. Step 5) rating scale questions were used to ask to rate the souvenirs’ prototypes. For this step, 25 individuals were dividedinto 5 groups which are the experts of product design, provincial development officers, craft producers in communities, souvenir shop owners, and tourists. There are 3 aspects asking consumers’ satisfaction: presenting identities of arts and culture in the south of Thailand, presentingthe beauty, and materials used and manufacturing process.  The consumers’ satisfaction was analyzed by using frequency, mean, and percentage of descriptive statistics.

The research shows that the most satisfying aspect is presenting identities of arts and culture in the south of Thailand with the high level (  = 4.38 and SD = 0.61).The second satisfying aspect is the materials used and manufacturing processwith the high level (  = 4.10 and SD = 0.674). The least satisfying aspect is presenting the beautywith the high level (  =4.04 and SD = 0.61)