Creator Profile

Saran Yen Panya

Saran Yen Panya always creates surprises by giving new life to materials we once overlooked.

Achievements

2014

Young Designer of the Year, Wallpaper Magazine Thailand

2017

Designer of the Year

Saran matches unexpected materials to create a bold piece with a story to tell. With his background as a “story-telling” design graduate, he makes sure his products, from furniture to fashion, reflect stories from his surroundings.

After graduating from the Department of Industrial Design at Chulalongkorn University, Saran continued to nurture his passion for design by pursuing a master’s degree in Sweden, where he delved deeper into the scope of story-telling design.

What he learned from the story-telling design program inspired him to start narrating stories of Thai society through quirky designs. Saran started by interpreting Thailand ‘s economic disparity and presenting the concept through a chair made from contrasting materials — colorful plastic baskets from the fresh market and Victorian-style wooden legs.

Now Saran is expanding his expertise to more collaborations with other brands, including innovative textile design with One More Thing and story-telling design for some online retail platforms. He is setting his marketing direction toward the way of “Industrial craft”, which means attracting customers from the mass market with not-so-mass tastes.