TMRW shares aspects of Thai millennials’ sense of self through art

Making tomorrow theirs – the aspiration toward their future

Drawings illustrated by Thai millennials to reflect how they see their tomorrow

The diversity of Thai millennials and the richness of their aspirations and life goals were exhibited at an art workshop held by TMRW, UOB’s mobile-only bank for ASEAN’s digital generation.

Twelve millennials from all walks of life joined TMRW’s art workshop, which was led by Ms Fasai Viseskul, a leading art psychotherapist in Thailand.

To enable the participants to channel their creativity and to express their hopes for the future better, participants were first asked to draw themselves being a star in the sky. As part of this, they needed to show what kind of star they would be and where the sky they would be located. This followed with an exercise during which the participants drew themselves in four different ways: how they saw themselves; how others perceived them; who they wanted to be; and, what others expected them to be.

The participants were then asked to focus on their life journey, dream job, life goals and what they would do to achieve their goals. They were then encouraged to draw on their feelings, dreams and inspiration to create pieces of art based on how they see their future.

At the end of the art workshop, it became clear that regardless of gender, profession or marital status, the group shared many things in common when it came to what they wanted in the future. They are all striving for a balance between job security, financial stability and the choice to live their lives as they want. They want to succeed on their own terms as they fulfil their life aspirations.

What was surprising was the way millennials of different ages perceived time. When asked how they see their “tomorrow”, millennials between the ages of 30 and 39 thought about how their lives would be in five to 10 years’ time. In contrast, millennials between the ages of 23 and 30 had a more literal view of tomorrow, focusing on the present. This may be attributed to them having less life experiences than the slightly older group.

Interpreting the drawings, Ms Viseskul said that three factors drive millennials: the need to pursue their passions; support from their social circle; and a sense of optimism.

“Art uses the right side of the brain where implicit memory exists better than verbal expression. Going through the process of creating art enables millennials to express the thoughts, feelings and issues that may otherwise be suppressed. When it comes to what they want for the future, we can see from their drawings the shared themes of attitude, inspiration and the value they consider that makes life worth living,” Ms Visekul said.

Pursuing their dream career

The art created at TMRW’s art workshop showed that Thai millennials are willing to go about pursuing their dream job and are determined to work towards it. This could take the form of gaining experience by starting from more junior roles in the same industry.

Experiencing the world on their feet

Asked about how they see their future, more than six of the 12 participants drew aeroplanes and other travel-related icons as well as their dream destinations. This was a reflection of their aspirations to experience places beyond their home country, instead of only through pictures of others’ adventures on social media feeds. They also shared a strong desire to visit every continent and to experience different cultures.

Having the full control of their life

The artworks by the 12 Thai millennials also revealed that they prefer to be free from routine and to have opportunities that enable them pursue their goals such as setting up businesses. They want to take control of their lives by being true to whom they want to become and to do what they love.

Mr Yuttachai Teyarachakul, Managing Director, Country Head of Personal Financial Services, UOB (Thai), said the diversity of Thai millennials led to the Bank to design its mobile-only digital bank TMRW to meet the needs of and appreciate the distinctiveness of each customer.

“We wanted to understand Thai millennials more deeply and the art workshop has enabled us to do so. The findings from the workshop reinforce that differences exist not only in each generation but also within the same generation. This is also why we created TMRW as a truly personalised banking experience for Thailand’s digital generation, instead of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ app,” Mr Teyarachakul said.