BEGIN AGAIN

A lifetime in the making, creative director Rom Sangkavatana's family home in Bangkok is a sleek, art-filled haven that celebrates authenticity

- Kissa Castañeda

For as long as Rom Sangkavatana can remember, he always had a drive to create. “Since I was little, I wanted to express myself, and I did that mostly through art and design,” says the Bangkok-based creative director of Rom Design, who is also the founder of Townhouse Space, a talent agency, concept store and gallery.

Any Asian from a conservative family can probably relate to the fact that a career in the arts isn’t always encouraged. For Sangkavatana, whose family is involved in property and aviation businesses in Thailand, there was an expectation that he would follow a traditional professional path.

“I think I was lucky that they allowed me to go on this risky journey,” he says about his parents being supportive of his decision to pursue a creative career. His design journey started in earnest as a student at the prestigious Central St. Martins in London, where he studied graphic design. He also earned a Master’s Degree from The Bartlett, University College London, and spent some time working in the UK and in France. Living in Europe was a formative period in his life, and this experience continues to influence his work and outlook.

Upon returning to Bangkok in 2011, Sangkavatana decided to focus on branding at a time when the industry was in its infancy in Thailand. “Design is the output of art and commerce—it requires a lot of logical thinking. Branding is often about solutions, not just marketing,” he says. His eponymous firm offers everything from brand identity to artistic direction and content creation. To date, it has worked on One Nimman in Chiang Mai, Amoma in Japan and, most recently, Soho House in Bangkok. Sangkavatana is also a newly minted music artiste who released two songs in 2022; he is currently working on another track to be launched this year.