Thai Language Phrase Books: A Mega Review

What exactly goes into phrase book design?

It’s not exactly a secret that I also blog at Women Learning Thai. And as a designer, design does tend to sneak into my posts.

For instance, in Thai Language Phrase Books: A Mega Review, I found myself critiquing the book designs.

In preparation for that post, I approached the project as if I’d been hired by a client to scout out what arrangements worked best for phrase books, then report back. In detail.

First, I surrounded myself with every type of phrase book imaginable. Then, I culled out the cacca. Next, I immersed myself in all things phrase books by reading each from cover to cover, all the while keeping my design mind open.

Not exactly a surprise was how effective some of the one and two colour versions were. What did surprise me was how a leader in the phrase book business, The Rough Guide, could make a disaster of a colour choice.

In the first sections of The Rough Guide there are 16 pages of light blue with knock out white copy. Have you ever tried to read white copy on a light blue background? Printed on thin paper? You got it, it is pretty much impossible to read in good light, let alone bad.

And when you think about the situations for reading phrase books – dimly lit restaurants, street corners at dusk, at the back of a bus – then it should be obvious to everyone involved that phrase book design needs to be super legible.

But, designers being what they are, sometimes the urge to create something different (insert ‘pretty‘) gets ahead of us and we lose our way. Either that, or someone needs to smack their printer and/or the person responsible for the print check up the side of the head with a paddle. Hard.

Living in the country, I also brought my own Thai culture and language experiences into the mix: what was left out, what didn’t belong, as well as what I found new.

So the other surprise was a seeming lack of a Thailand focus. And here I’m not taking about actual design as in pixels, I’m talking about their target audience.

Perhaps, as a cost savings, some of the larger phrase book producers took the cookie cutter approach by using the same phrases for each country?

Well, I can’t talk about all countries, but I can tell you that it does not work for Thailand. For starters, Thailand does not have ski slopes, or avalanches or ice skating.

What it does have is a rich, embedded culture that comes out in their phrases. Yes, there is another beef coming up…

In Thailand, a common greeting is ‘have you eaten rice yet’ which translates to ‘have you eaten yet’ but really means, ‘how are you doing?’ or ‘what’s hanging?’ or ‘yo mamma!’

And did I find this very common Thai phrase in all of the Thai phrase books? No.

Deep sigh… But, instead of continuing on with a full-blown rant, I’ll leave this rant at that.

The (badly timed) series on Thai phrase books:

• Travelling with Thai Phrase Books
• Using Thai Phrase Books
• Thai Language Phrase Books: A Mega Review
• When They Can’t Speak Thai
• Thai Phrase Books with a Twist
• and one other (still to be determined).

Enjoy…

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Snooty Designer?

The Creativity of Crowds

CrowdSpring aims to slash the cost of graphic design work–and democratize a snooty business.

snooty |?sno?t?|
arrogant, proud, haughty, conceited, aloof, superior, self-important, disdainful, supercilious, snobbish, snobby, patronizing, condescending, uppity, uppish, high and mighty, la-di-da, stuck-up, hoity-toity, too big for one’s breeches, persnickety, bigheaded and snot-nosed.

Yup, that’s me. I’m one bigheaded la-di-da designer with a hoity-toity arrogance.

Want more? Then read…

David Airey’s Forbes calls designers snooty
Steph Doyle’s Forbes Promotes Graphic Design Kitsch
Steve’s Design is a ’snooty’ business: Forbes
Erik Akers’ Designers = Snooty?
Jeff Andrew’s Forbes Magazine: Graphic Design is a Snooty Business
Brian Yerks’ Why CrowdSpring Owners Should Be Ashamed of Their Business

And of course, NO!SPEC’s Forbes Says Designers are Snooty

These past few weeks have been total strangeness.

Thanks Forbes. For everything…

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What a strange week it’s been. What with walls blowing up, and, well, walls blowing up (?)

Anyway, I thought I’d end the week on a fine note by joining David Airey with his 33 logos in 33 minutes, inspired by Jane’s fun with brands meme.

(DWB’s regular schedule will resume on Monday with … the real David Airey.)

If you survive on take-away out here, you don’t consume a lot of products with labels slapped on. That’s because you’ll generally eat out of clear baggies.

(A branding opportunity?)

Eating off the street is a must do experience. It’s not so much the stomach problems that are the worry (those were cleaned up years back). It’s getting those blasted rubber bands off the baggies.

(I even hear tell the Thai government has made acquiring this talent a gotta for expats submitting retirement visas. Time to practice?)

But no matter. Thanks to Jo and Jay at Learn Thai Podcast I have just the trick.

(I’ve been waiting to plug their Thai language blog and seems this is the perfect opportunity. Yes?)

Either click on the screen shot below, or check out their podcast at Thailand Survival Skills: Dealing with Rubber Bands.

(Go ahead and tell them cat sent you.)

Those FriCking Rubber Bands!

Coming up is a range of photos taken around Thailand. Some will have their English equivalents. Some not (can you guess who they are?)

Some items were purchased last night for this meme. And except for two, all run down hill.

Meet you at the bottom …

There is a reason I finished with the Oolong Tea. Last night, after struggling back home with cans and cans of BEER and COFFEE and bottles of WHISKY and such, I googled Oolong Tea Hill Country Thailand. What I found was interesting.

For instance, did you know that …

• The tea plant is native to northern Thailand, but the Thais are not avid tea drinkers.
• The same climatic conditions optimum for opium poppies also produces tea.
• Chiang-kei Shek’s Nationalist Army (hiding in Thailand) switched from gem and drug smuggling, black marketing, etc, to raising Oolong Tea in the Hill Country of Thailand.
• The Royal Project and the United Nations International Drug Control Program is responsible for switching poppy cultivation to tea cultivation.

Pretty hot stuff, yes?

So. Did you guess which was which?

(Hmm, since the photo shoot is over, I imagine it’s ok to consume that what runs down hill. Yes? Can you guess which ones I’m going for? Hmmm?)

Blogs involved in the Branding / Timeline meme:

• Logo Design Love | 33 logos in 33 minutes
• Dear Jane Sample | fun with brands
• SEGD | 14 logos in 14 minutes
• The Toad Stool | brand day: morning edition
• a binary life | day in brands
• Afs world! | 12 logos in 12 minutes
• Binky the doormat | day in brands
• Fox’s Den | brand name day
• Creative Beef | Friday in brands
• thehappycorp.com | what time is your brand?
• ADCD Graffiti | brands you encounter
• Manhattan Offender | brand timeline
• philsblogging.com | where we encounter brands
• E.K.’s Hideaway | brand new day
• The Marketing Student | day in the life of gen Y
• Mike Vogel | brand timeline portrait
• dehog. this is me. | day in brands and logos
• Beyond Rivalry | brand timeline portrait

Now that’s a LOT of new blogs to visit. Yes?

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Yes, it’s a Happy Birthday to … us …

• Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Enya, Jackie McLean, Sugar Ray Leonard, Dennis Hopper, the Ayatollah Khomeini (um) and more.

And since birthdays are a time of reflection, I thought I’d take a page from Olivier Blanchard’s (the brand builder) birthday inventory. Only, I’ll forgo the drinking, eating, working and sleeping part as it’d make this post way too long. Instead, I’ve mapped out my bits in pink (above), and dreamed future dreams (below).

Places I’ve lived: Aberdeen (Scotland), Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei Darussalam), Bangkok (Thailand), Bay Area (Calif), Blenheim (New Zealand), Denver (Colorado), Fairbanks (Alaska), Fairoaks (Calif), Hot Springs (Virginia), Houston (Texas), Misawa (Japan), Palisades (Colorado), Pau (France), Portland (Oregon), Questa (New Mexico), Quitman (Texas), Sacramento (Calif), Seattle (Washington), Sungai Akar (Brunei Darussalam), Tyler (Texas).

Places I’ve been: American Samoa, Andorra, Australia, Basque Country, Belize, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Dubai, Egypt, France, Germany, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Hutt River Province, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Labuan, Mexico, Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, New Zealand, UK, USA (note: included if a country inside a country).

Places I didn’t get enough of: Australia, Basque Country, Cambodia, Canada, Egypt, France, Ireland, Kenya, Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Scotland, Spain, New Zealand (Thailand, UK and USA are a given).

Future dreams: Bhutan, Burma, Corsica, Cuba, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, Italy, Lao, Lebanon, Madagascar, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Oman, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Tibet, Vietnam.

So, come on, cough up. Do you have pink bits too? Then why not share your bits on JayHan’s Dotted Map of the world, play countries of the world, map out your bits on TripAdvisor or Facebook’s TravBuddy, OR, get your birthday bits at BrainyHistory?

Pssst … best birthday present ever? A Kiss.

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When I went on your site to look, I found this message:

“Sorry, the web site you are accessing has been closed by Royal Thai Police due to inappropriateness such as pornography, gambling or contain any information which is deemed to violate national security.”

Being the kind and considerate person I am, I emailed to let you know what was up.

And what did I get in return?

“Dear Catherine,

Best Regards,
Xxxx.com Support Associate”

I honestly do not believe your survey will have the appropriate buttons for me to push. But I do have a few choice ones I’d like to add.

Yes, I do.

And oh, what do we have here?

“Enjoy this stuff? Forward the email to a friend!”

Thank you. Yes. I do believe I will.

regards,
Catherine

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The British feed the world with their own brand of comedy via the likes of: Peter Sellers, the Goons, Roan Atkinson, Charlie Chapman, Spike Milligan, John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Ben Elton, Michael Palin, Marty Feldman, Peter Sellers, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

And I can’t resist mentioning a few comedies the Americans twicked: Till Death Do Us Part (Archie Bunker), Man About the House (Three’s Company), and Robin’s Nest (Three’s a Crowd).

So when the OGC logo came into view, I thought it was yet another pull. (Note: the OGC is UK’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) – the HM Treasury tentacle “responsible for improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement”).

From the Register: UK Office of Government Commerce cracks one off

According to an inside source, the graphic had allegedly already been inscribed onto mousemats and pens in anticipation of its imminent deployment, but it took OGC foot soldiers around 20 seconds to realise why this particular bit of joss-stick-driven madness was going to end in tears (of laughter):

From the Telegraph: OGC unveils new logo to red faces

When asked about this oversight, a spokesman for OGC said: “…it is not inappropriate to an organisation that’s looking to have a firm grip on Government spend.”

OH, my. my my my.

So I popped off an email to British logo designer David Airey, complete with what I’d found. David emailed back with resources of his own (some used in this post), as well as a quote:

“Having a firm grip (on Government spend) is of vital importance. The last thing you want is to go shooting from the hip in all directions. The voting public could easily be left with a bad taste – not good policy.”

[Grins] followed by [Wider Grins] … gotta love a Brit of Humour!

So, what do you think? Is the logo a keeper? Is the British government taking the micky? And / or, are they taking this design snafu in their stride?

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Thursday night late (might as well call it Friday morning, mostly because it was), after tying up blogging loose ends here (and leaving Jay to the sweating heat of Songkran), we shoved suitcases into a taxi and off we went. To Suvarnabhumi, Thailand’s new(ish), but not uneventful airport (BA, join the club!)

Except for an overly-helpful stewardess waking me up to turn off a light so’s not to wake anyone up, the flight was uneventful. I know because I was awake the rest of the way. The best part of 11 hours awake.

Landing in Heathrow, I tiredly grinned when they announced first and business class luggage was to be delayed. Grins turned to frowns when it changed to all luggage on our flight. A 40 minute delay they say.

Fast forward past the gathering of luggage, the wait for the rental (heads shaking at a prediction of snow), down the M3 past Stonehenge to lunching at The Queens Arms. Then finally, entering Exeter.

So strange. Nothing has changed. It’s like blink in time. Here might as well be around the corner from there. And it is. From point to point, with a kink tying up the middle, it’s a mere 23 hour corner.

Skipping the rest of that day and yesterday, we come to today. Sunday. A beautiful day. A snowy day. An April day. And a day of remembrance.

(It’s snowing? by C Morley)

Yesterday and before were typical Devon spring days. Sun and no sun. Nothing new. But today, first thing, large gobs of show floated down past windows. Black snow-filled skies, then lightening followed by thunder. A dark day.

(Snow shine by C Morley)

Then, as is typical on a snowy Devon day, sun followed snow. Brilliant and warm, a welcoming and welcomed sun.

(Snow flowers by C Morley)

So here I am today. Sunday morning late. On a day of remembrance. A beautiful day of remembrance. Yes. A year ago today, my precious father inlaw was laid to rest.

A year ago today, an undertaker, walking under a large and black top hat, led the way on foot. A laden Hearst crawled behind, with us after. Slowly, slowly we went, up that road of snow.

A year ago today, we woke, dressed, then gathered across the hall for shots of brandy and warm hugs. To start our day of saying goodbyes to a dear, dear man. A man who, at the end of his life, hated the cold and the snow.

But I’m sure he would have loved this new beautiful day of sun and snow flowers. And a brandy or two.

So, here’s a bottoms up.
And a warm cheers to you all and yours.
And of course, to those who will be blogging.

(The sun between the snows by C Morley)

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Do you recall their counter windows, similar to those found in banks? The ones with the narrow slots along the bottom to slide paperwork through?

Why is it, that although we all know modern mics carry, we still lean down on elbows to talk at that hole?

So there I sat, front row in a room full, waiting for my number to come up. Waiting and watching people walk up to those windows, elbow down on those counters, and talk through those holes. Sitting. Waiting. Watching. All at counter level.

An hour into my morning of waiting two men walked up to the window. Grown men, not lads, not boys. The tall, largish (but not lardish) chap slipped his items through the slot, then leaned over to answer a question. Just like those before, each time the gal behind the counter spoke, he leaned.

She speaks, he leans. I bury my head in a book and bite down on my finger. Then two.

She speaks. A lot. He leans a lot. A visual person, it’s all too much of a visual for me.

You see, just like his buddy he’s dressed in a large, bright yellow shirt (not tucked in), with tan Bermuda shorts beneath.

The difference is, his baggy shorts are split from cheek to cheek. Horizontally. The full width of his cheeks. His bare cheeks. At my eye level. And theirs.

So she speaks. He leans. The whole room gets a broad peek.

Some (like me), hide behind books, newspapers or paperwork. Some look to the floor. Some catch eyes, pursing upturned lips tight with teeth biting down.

The result is a roomful of muffled sputtering and tittering, giggling and chuckling. But not loud. No. Not loud. It’s just too familiar. Too close to home.

Yes. We’ve all been there, done that, enjoyed the party. But hopefully, not with such a captive, attentive audience.

Living in a country where help is cheap, we’ve all suffered from the lack of quality control that comes with having day maids. A lack of communication or no, clothes are washed, dried, ironed and put away without comment.

It doesn’t matter if a button is missing, or the whites are washed with the reds, or if there’s a tear in a shirt (or in his case, a pair of Bermudas). Clothes are washed, ironed and neatly put away on hangers and in drawers. Finish.

Finish for them anyway. It starts for you when down you look to find that your cleavage has been shared with the world for hours, your collar is burnt brown on one side, your socks don’t match, and there’s a rip under one arm.

And if asked for a show of hands, I’m sure twenty percent or more of the males in that room would admit to wearing pink underwear in the past year. Underwear once white.

So yes, we all knew what happened. Running late, he grabbed from his top drawer and out the door he went. To us.

That’s right. When there’s a job to do and only so many hours to finish, sometimes corners get cut. And a given, an absence of quality control (and at times proper communication), often results in mistakes being made.

With the better part of a morning to go, and with the men in yellow being sent to another counter in the other room, I settled down and thought about quality control and communication in the design industry. The Visual Communication Design industry.

There are times when there’s no time to check that one last time before something goes to press, a project is signed over, or a product is launched. So we hold our breath and hope clients don’t notice that one little thing that nagged us at the end – a word not properly kerned, a graphic not spaced just so, a colour not just right, code not cleaned to our liking.

And we justify by saying they didn’t give us enough time, or money, or leeway to complete the job properly. And besides, it’s obvious clients wouldn’t notice as they don’t understand design. Right? So, why bother. Right?

Well, maybe. Maybe if they don’t notice (right away or at all), just maybe their audience will? It’s just a thought. A thought I had while sitting there waiting my turn, taking part in an audience not my own.

Then, before my number was called, back they came. Back came the men in the yellow shirts and tan Bermuda shorts. Joining the wait they lean against the wall. And out of the corners of our eyes, the rest of us watch and wait.

So we all wait together. Some in transfixed anticipation.

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The Real Reason Behind Digg’s Bury Brigade

As usual (love these guys), Brad and Chris are spot with their recent cartoon on the subject of digg and diggers.

But when I went to comment, WordPress snafued it up.

So, one plus two equals … WHAT?

So, hey Brad. Hey Chris. Here’s me waving in your direction. It’s not like I didn’t try … I even recounted on my fingers just to double check (computers, yeah?)

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Artwerk

Wandering, working, sleeping. And not in that order.

Well, this is going to be a wandering post. A half asleep post. With Jay here in Bangkok, we are working long hours and my brain just wants to keep working. Two am finds us still up. Sometimes. Last night I attempted to crash at midnight but it just wasn’t to be. I finally dropped off on the sofa around one am, but … sigh … Jay, needing a drink of water and trying to be quiet, tripped over the cat’s bowl then slammed into the cupboard with a TWACK!! And then there I was. Awake.

So, what do YOU do when you’re working on a rush project and your creative brain won’t stop whirling? Ah. Yes. I’m desperate. Totally. Desperate and shagged out. And I still have so much yet to do.

I did try to keep to my no computer after lights out rule. But, last night was tough so I used the excuse of googling for tips on insomnia. I didn’t find anything new. Not really. Just the usual with a little weirdness.

Yes, I did try all my usuals – the History channel, bananas and milk (soya these days). Nadda. Then, around four am, I finally gave up and turned to throat-shuddering Whiskey chased down with ALL OF JAY’S CHOCOLATE PEANUT M&Ms. Finally. Something that worked. M&Ms. And being Jay’s, even better.

But, I did find something of interest for you. Checking the sitemeter stats at DWB, I found HOWie Rob Hernandez’s blog – Artwerk. He sputtered to a halt last November, but maybe if we give him a nudge he’ll start going again? Artwerk is certainly a blog worth continuing. For sure.

He doesn’t have his portfolio finished (yet) so … (nudge) (nudge)

In his post A closer look at some of the best Automobile Logos Rob showcases BMW, Toyota, Mercedes, Maserati, Mitsubishi, Porsche, SAAB, Lotus, Lamborghini, Ford, FIAT, Ferrari and Jaguar. I like.

As a passionate (but former) antique car collector, I’ll add the Sunbeam Alpine (my parents worked pit), the Austin-Healy (I had a Sprite during high school, then a Bug-eyed Sprite after I graduated, then stripped down and rebuilt a 3000 in Houston), the MGA Twin Cam (a sturdy car, one saw me through college, then another helped me to work) and the E Type Jag (I was honoured to have the traditional yellow).

Austin Healy 3000

Getting older, I tired of spending weekends covered in grease (and seeing mechanics on the roadside more than I liked), so switched to depending on a beautiful blue Nissan 300ZX. Still in love with old cars, I stored the Austin Healy 3000 and MGA in the garage, taking them out for a spin only to keep their liquids free and easy. The Austin Healy 3000 was a trip around the block. Souped up by a former owner (took a special blend to keep it revved), it could beat the 300ZX off the mark more times than not. Yes, just like in logo design, younger and newer is not always better.

Nissan 300ZX and MGA Twin Cam (and oil stains)

These days? Well, I now depend on the sky train and underground. And flagging down taxis and tuk tuks. Oh, and my own two feet.

I miss my cars. Yes. I do. But I couldn’t imagine the stress of caring for all that tidy paint in a city filled with swaying elephants, frantic motorcycle taxis and staggering tourists. No. I can’t.

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