THE DESIGNS OF THE THAI ALPHABETS WITH THE IDENTITIES OF NAKHON PATHOM PROVINCE

Abstract

          The purposes of the research study, the designs of the Thai alphabets with the identities of Nakhon Pathom Province, are to design the alphabets and to provide the guidelines for people who are interested in designing alphabets with identities. The documents, texts and studies were reviewed. The five scholars who were the community philosophers in the province were interviewed in order to identify the identities of the province. Then, it was summarized and the ten prototype Thai alphabets were designed with the identities. The alphabets were revised by the seven experts in history, arts, cultures and local communities in order to select the appropriate alphabets and to evaluate the efficiencies of the alphabets. The experts consisted of the three scholars and the four experts in graphic design and 5 years of professional experiences or longer. It was found that the alphabets could represent the characteristics of the province, and the alphabets were appropriate for titles at the high level. The selected alphabets were consonants, vowels, tone marks, Thai numbers and Arabic numbers. The opinions and the satisfactions towards the alphabets were surveyed from the samples as follows: (1) the 10 professional designers who were 25 – 60 years with two years of working experiences or longer and (2) the 30 individuals who were 20 – 60 years with experiences in graphic design. It was found that the alphabets could clearly communicate their meanings at the high level. There were the alphabets that must be revised. “ก” (Kor) was similar to “ถ” (Thor). “ห” (Hor) was similar to “น” (Nor). “๑”, a Thai number, had the tail longer than that of the other alphabets.