Tim Ball begins his design adventure in Thailand
They’re calling him Thai-Ball now.
One of the nation’s better newspaper designers, Tim Ball, left his job at The San Jose Mercury News this summer to move to Bangkok. There, he’ll be designing a magazine that covers the retail jewelry business.
I’m not sure which is the more radical change. United States to Thailand? Or newspapers to magazines?
Luckily for us, Tim’s been writing about his adventure in his blog. He’s been in Bangkok about three weeks. We figured it was time we checked in for an update…
Q. When did you start the new job?
A. I started last Monday [Aug. 27], so I’ve got the first week under my belt now.
Q. Did the month or so off give you enough time to pack and move?
A. It gave me just enough time, as it turned out.
My last day at the Merc was the day of the All-Star Game, so with planning for that, I didn’t have any time to prepare for the move ’til I was completely done with work.
Tim arrived in Bangkok Aug. 13; his luggage arrived two days later. He celebrated its arrival with this self-portrait.
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I moved out of my house in San Jose toward the end of July, and I flew to Bangkok on Aug. 12. So I had a bit of time to appreciate everything I was leaving behind before I hopped on a plane. Then I had a couple weeks in Thailand to get settled and find a place to live before starting work.
Honestly, it was the longest “vacation” I’ve had in the 10 years I’ve been working in newspapers, though it wasn’t terribly relaxing.
Q. Tell us more about the magazine you’re working for. Does it cover a specific topic?
A. It’s a trade magazine, geared towards jewelry retailers.
Catering to jewelry-store owners isn’t what I thought I’d be doing with my life, but, to me, it’s a great way to break into this industry. It’s very highly-regarded in the trade-magazine world, it’s already quite well designed, and resources just aren’t an issue. I work with a talented staff of other editors, a few of which also came from the newspaper world.
Q. You’ve written about how difficult it is to read Thai. Are you finding you can get by just fine with English?
A. Well, “just fine” is relative, I suppose. I’m getting by, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult.
Taking a taxi to and from work means I’ve had to learn a few basic words in Thai already, and I’ve got a little map written in Thai that I carry with me so as to get back home more easily. Until I become more fluent, there’s always going to be some pointing and pantomime involved when I need something.
A lot of Thais do speak some English, but that’s like saying that I speak some Spanish. Certainly not enough to get by among natives.
Here’s an easy one: What does this sign say?
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Q. Is the magazine a Thai-language publication? Or an English-language one?
A. It’s an English-language magazine, that’s distributed solely in the U.S.
A good deal of the editorial staff (and all the writers) is based in the U.S., and the production offices are here in Bangkok. So, in addition to a small Thai staff here, it’s me (the group creative director), the executive editor and managing editor for the flagship magazine (InStore) and the group editorial director.
Q. How will your new work habits change? Will that be because of the change from San Jose to Bangkok? Or more a function of the change from newspapers to magazines?
A. I think the changes will solely be a function of changing from newspapers to magazines.
There are some things that won’t change: The hours are long and drag into the wee hours during a 10-or-so-day deadline stretch each month. But most things, are, of course, different.
For one, I’m designing solely in Quark for the first time in nearly a decade. For another, it’s a refreshing change to be able to just go out and buy whatever I need. I’ve got a brand-new Mac G5 with a 30-inch cinema display, with CS3, and everything else I could imagine.
If I’ve got a conceptual idea for a spread, I can go out and find — and buy — the perfect image for it. When I’m working on a redesign (which I am, for one of our offshoot magazines), I can have pretty much free reign when it comes to seeking out new typography or freelance illustrators.
The living room of Tim’s new apartment, 27 floors above Bangkok.
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Q. You’ve written extensively in your blog about your decision to spring for a nice apartment. Seems pretty plush. What was the rationale for going with something so nice?
A. I feel a little silly talking about that in a forum like this one. I mean, who really cares?
But, if people do, it was this: Having never even visited Bangkok before moving here, I really had no way to judge whether I’d love or hate the city. I figured (and hoped) it would be the former. But if, after six months or a year, it turned out to be the latter, I wanted a sanctuary away from the chaos that populates most of the city.
And I’ve got that: I’ve got a great view, I’m muffled from any traffic noise (which is hard in a city this size), but I’m still close to the office and very, very close to public-transportation links, so I can be pretty much anywhere without a hassle.
The other thought was: Barring a lottery win, I’m never going to be able to afford to live like this in a city this size anywhere else in the world. So, why not now?
The exterior. The arrow points to Tim’s crib.
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Q. You mentioned there was a big thunderstorm a few nights ago. Did you find yourself closer to the lightning than you’d like?
A. It’s a little eerie, but it’s also very cool.
I’m on the 27th floor, with a completely unobstructed view over the city and the river right in front of me. And it’s the “rainy season” right now, which from what I can tell, means that it’ll probably rain — but not for very long — every day. Just short bursts of thunderstorms.
But the lightning up here is crazy: If my condo is completely dark, save for the TV, a flash of lightning makes it as bright as the middle of the day. And that happens almost every night.
The view from Tim’s bathroom.
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Q. You wrote of your dream involving pot roast. Have you had any odd American cravings yet? Or is it still too soon for that?
A. I think it’s probably too soon.
There’s a vast array of international cuisine available here, but it’s all just a bit off-tasting, so far. I went out with some friends two nights ago, and we had “Mexican” food (the quotes there are necessary, believe me). It was unfortunate. And expensive. Thai food is so good and so cheap that there’s really little reason to venture far from it.
Q. What do you suppose you’ll miss the most about the states?
A. Well, my friends and family, of course, foremost. But beyond that, it’s really hard to pick one thing.
Tim with pals Tiffany Pease and Martin Gee in Orlando last fall. Photo by Matt Erickson.
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I don’t miss newspapers at all, yet, at least. I don’t miss high prices, or early closing-times, or the no-smoking-in-bars bit. I do miss being able to drive.
I guess that probably is it, right there: Traffic here is absolutely insane (and taxis are insanely cheap), so I’m not sure I’d want to drive, even if I had a car. But there’s something about not having to rely on others to get to work and get home that I miss. That’ll pass, though, I’m sure.
Q. What advice would you give your pals back here who might consider a move to another part of the world?
A. I’m not sure there’s much I could say that’d apply universally.
It’s funny: When I told people about this move, most folks fell into one of two camps. I got responses like “That is awesome. You’re so lucky!” or “That is insane. You’re nuts.” There was very little middle ground.
[Full disclosure: I told Tim the latter.]
I had this weird confluence of circumstances that allowed me to do this: I wanted to work for a magazine, I wanted to live abroad (though, for years, I’d hoped that would happen in London), I didn’t have a house payment or a car payment or anyone or anything tying me down in the States.
It’s something that probably wouldn’t have happened five years from now. But it was the right time for me, and an exciting place, and I think I’d have regretful a few years from now had I let it pass me by.
Thanks, Tim, for taking the time to update us on your adventure. Best wishes!
Find Tim’s blog here.
Find Tim’s portfolio here.
Find InStore’s web site here.
Learn more about the Thai language here.
