2023
Myths & Magic: Symbolism in Thai Temples
Myths & Magic is an interactive infographic exploring the symbolism, mythology, and cultural meanings embedded within Thai temples - combining information design, illustration, and interaction design to make complex cultural content engaging and accessible. Thai temples contain rich layers of symbolism, mythology, and etiquette that are difficult for unfamiliar audiences to fully navigate. Existing educational resources tended toward either dense academic texts or oversimplified tourist summaries - neither of which supported genuine cultural understanding. This project explored how interaction design and visual storytelling could do better.
The BRIEF
How might we communicate culturally complex, information-dense content in a way that stays engaging and user-controlled without oversimplifying the subject matter?
The Approach
A research-led information design approach combining cultural research, iterative prototyping, usability testing, and interactive storytelling.
I began with deep research into Thai temple symbolism, Buddhist mythology, temple architecture, and the role of belief systems in contemporary Thai culture. From there I explored multiple narrative structures through low-fidelity sketches, then built mid-fidelity interactive prototypes in Figma to test sequencing, comprehension, and interaction behaviours through usability testing and affinity mapping.
The Solution
A fully interactive educational infographic combining visual storytelling, illustration, and user-controlled interaction to support deeper engagement with Thai temple symbolism and culture.
The infographic used interactive cards, illustrations, icons, timelines, and layered information components to help users navigate complex cultural content at their own pace. Narrative sequencing guided users gradually from mythology and symbolism through to practical temple etiquette - connecting cultural understanding with real-world application. Accessibility considerations including colour contrast compliance and colour-blind safe palettes were integrated throughout.
The Impact
The project demonstrated how interaction design and visual storytelling can make culturally complex information more engaging and accessible without sacrificing nuance or depth.
Myths & Magic reinforced how interactive design can foster genuine cultural understanding by weaving historical, symbolic, and behavioural contexts into a single cohesive experience. It also deepened my interest in designing for culture, storytelling, and human meaning-making - themes that continue to run through my practice.
