Chiang Mai student wins AirAsia art comp

An art student from Chiang Mai has won a competition to come up with a snazzy design for Air Asia’s new Airbus 320. The traditional pattern, called lai kanok, features a simple red and white design that wraps around the tail of the aircraft.

The young artist from Chiang Mai University, Ekkawich Ariyawongsanukul (nickname Peet), said that ‘less is more’ envisioning that covering only part of the aircraft will make it more noticeable and striking.

Ekkawich also chose the kanok for its likeness with the Thai AirAsia logo and the affinity of Thais with the symbol.

It took Ekkawich about a week to complete the design. As part of the research before creating it, he visited a library to study about the kanok. The finished drawing was uploaded to computer and beat 135 other designs from universities nationwide.

The judges were particularly intrigued with Ekkawich’s design and use of blank space within the kanok pattern, which would ultimately make it more visible from a distance than one crammed with detail.

Among the judges were Suchart Wongthong, a well-known Thai watercolour artist and National Artist Naowarat Pongpaibool, who also contributed by conducting a Thai poem which will be placed on the front entrance of the plane.

The aircraft will have the distinction of being the first aircraft in the world to bear a student’s painting along with a poem by a National Artist on its body.

The design will be flown on the A320 Airbus on routes including Hat Yai, Shenzhen, and Macau. The painted plane is one of the first to emerge out of the order of 40 new A320 Airbus’s that AirAsia have ordered. They will replace the airline's old Boeing 737-300s.

Ekkawich’s prize, as the winner of the competition, includes an all-expenses-paid trip to France as well as free airfare for one year for himself and his family to any of Thai AirAsia's destinations.

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