Welcome to “Future Talks” by RTF, a captivating series of conversations with the visionaries who breathe life into design narratives.
In this insightful interview with Kamolthip, the Managing Director of art4d CO Limited, we delve into the world of design and architecture media. Kamolthip shares her experiences, challenges, and aspirations in managing a publication like art4d. She discusses the evolving media landscape, maintaining editorial independence, and the uniqueness of content creation in the field of design. Join us as we gain valuable insights into the future of art4d and Kamolthip’s advice for aspiring writers in the realm of architecture and design.
Join us on this captivating journey as we engage in enlightening conversations with Kamolthip and other pioneering minds who bring design stories to life. “Future Talks” by RTF promises to be an inspiring exploration of the creativity that shapes our world.
RTF: Hi Kamolthip, We are glad to have you as a guest on Future Talks by RTF. Thanks for joining us. Managing a publication of the magnitude of art4d is great. What are things that constitute your role and how rewarding has your time been?
Kamolthip: My role is to manage the entire company flow, including crews and their roles. Moreover, business development, brand positioning and creative producing are also my tasks. I think my time has been rewarding by seeing the various angles and aspects of the people’s point of view. They sometimes give me ideas and inspiration.
RTF: What are some challenges that you faced growing art4d to where it stands today?
Kamolthip: Since the media landscape has changed, we must compete with untraditional media, including KOL and influencers. People nowadays are so crazy about the KPI of engagements and reaches, so all media and people are trying to provoke the audience as much as they can to get attention, but the thing is – what is the quality of content? The biggest challenge is that we must get people to know that we are different as we maintain our quality and reliability as we always are and expand them to new generations and audiences through the current media channels that are widely used.
RTF: Magazines have a unique relationship with advertisers. How do you maintain editorial independence and integrity while working with advertisers and sponsors?
Kamolthip: As art4d strongly positions itself at the international level and meets the academic standard, most advertisers and sponsors normally know where we are and understand how we can work together for both sides’ benefits. We normally settle the deal by agreeing to meet each other halfway, so art4d doesn’t get lost in the direction, and the advertisers/sponsors still can gain the marketing benefits from the smart way of communication through our content.
RTF: What are the challenges that the interviews and general exchanges with architects, designers, and other creatives present?
Kamolthip: As we all are from different backgrounds and experiences, the challenge is bringing each uniqueness and freshness out and turning them into content, as we want our readers to experience something they won’t find anywhere.
RTF: We would like to get your idea of a good pitch and how you differentiate between a ‘positive’ and a ‘negative’ approach from writers and designers.
Kamolthip: From my point of view, I can’t say what the idea of a good pitch is as there is nothing good for all situations. Something might be good for now, but it might not be good when things and context change. Also, we don’t have specific criteria to differentiate a ‘positive’ and a ‘negative’ approach as we think nothing is 100% positive or 100% negative. So, instead of focusing on differentiating between a ‘positive’ and a ‘negative’ approach, we normally find the ‘positive’ in ‘negative’ and find the ‘negative’ in ‘positive’.
RTF: What do you make of a perfect media kit? What information should be included in a media kit or submission package when pitching an article or project for your magazine?
Kamolthip: To be honest, I don’t think we make a perfect media kit. Of course, basic information about our media, such as our story, target audience, KPI, and traffic must be included. Other information will be customised to fit each project, as we normally settle the deal by agreeing to meet each other halfway.
RTF: What is the striking factor in the chunk of content that comes your way, how do you look at the content and decide on working towards that? What is the process like?
Kamolthip: The striking factor is what readers will get from the content. We have a pool of ideas and content that our team will work across, and we discuss a single piece of the chunk of content that comes to us weekly. We consider what readers will get for their brains.
RTF: What route do you see writing take, the short, crisp, and impactful one with only social media posts or the long-form articles with intricate recipes? How vital would a ‘balance’ be?
Kamolthip: We categorise the writings into two forms. First is short, crisp, and impactful on social media platforms for quick news or “readers need to know it now for their benefits”, and second is long-form articles with intricate sources and materials for readers who want to spend more time on reading or who seek for something more critique and analysis.
RTF: How has ‘redefining’ come into play for magazines when it comes to ideas and approaches, looking at a constant shift in the media landscape and people’s perception towards it?
Kamolthip: We must accept that the magazine can’t compete with social media channels regarding quickness and searchability. So, we redefine a magazine as a collectable item that readers cannot touch, smell or possess if they are online content. We delicately produce it like an art book, to make it more precious rather than just printing the news and columns in a traditional way of making a magazine.
RTF: What are your plans for the future with art4d?
Kamolthip: My plan is to expand art4d more globally and make it an institute or community rather than just a media. In this way, it will be with the audience to last long even if the media landscape, management team or editorial team are changed.
RTF: What advice do you have for individuals who are writing passionately about architecture and design and aspire to grow their career?
Kamolthip: Just keep doing it, travel, learn, read and write more. I don’t think I would have the advice to help them that much, as I think individuals have their own way and goals for their career, and there is no “one thing fits all” in the writing or content world.
