A Postcard from Bangkok – Real Impressions & AI?
Bangkok inspires: analog travel sketches, vivid impressions, and a creative experiment with AI – between tradition and technology.
At the end of our journey through Thailand, we treated ourselves to a few days in Bangkok, a city we’ve fallen in love with on previous travels. We stayed at the Chatrium Grand Bangkok, a beautiful retreat in the heart of the city’s hustle and bustle. The tropical garden with a pool and a small temple felt like an oasis in the vibrant metropolis – the perfect place to reflect and soak up new impressions.
I love experiencing my travels with a sketchbook in hand – and Bangkok was a true firework of inspiration. From the colorful hustle of Chinatown to a magical dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River, and the magnificent Grand Palace: a never-ending stream of visual input.
The contrasts between sparkling malls like ICONSIAM, traditional street food stalls, and elegant rooftop bars fascinated me the most. And the food… I translated all these impressions into a new illustration – a little love letter to this city that never sleeps, yet is full of quiet, poetic moments. A postcard from Bangkok – hand-painted and heartfelt.
Real impressions + hand-drawn illustration + AI = ❤️?
My USP is the handmade approach. In my illustrations, analog work always takes center stage – intentionally so, as a counterpoint to AI. Still, together with my husband Johannes König (Melville Brand Design), who works extensively with AI, I asked myself: where does my personal added value lie when it comes to AI?
On our recent trip – which also took us to Bangkok – I captured our impressions in an analog illustration. Afterwards, we experimented with creating an animated version using AI – not an easy task! One of the biggest challenges was teaching the AI to preserve my imperfect, handmade style rather than smoothing it out.
But: I’m really happy with the result! Especially when combined with real video footage, the animated illustration blends beautifully with the real-life impressions.
What do you think? Can the combination of analog illustration and AI work?
