Dr. Narongsak Kiatkhajonthada—a hematologist-oncologist, as well as a co-director of the Horizon Regional Cancer—explains the hidden meaning behind the Horizon logo. “Cancer patients tend to be under a great deal of stress, far more than patients of many other diseases, because cancer profoundly effects their entire lives and families. The disease is often seen as inescapably fatal while everyone has their own hopes, dreams and the wishes to continue their meaningful life as long as possible. That’s how we arrived at the Horizon Regional Cancer Center’s new logo, symbolizing the enduring, obtainable hope that lies on the horizon. It stands for the will to live, because apart from having receiving high quality medical attention, the patient’s state of mind is also crucial to effective cancer treatment.”
 

 

The inspiration for the Horizon Regional Cancer Center’s new logo drew heavily from the logo of Bumrungrad Hospital, but with a twist. The hopes and wishes of every cancer patient are incorporated into the symbolism too. The outer ring represents both the hospital and the horizon, where hope lies. The red line across the H is there to “cross out” the cancer. One particularly interesting detail is the font used for the word “cancer” itself. It is the Anna Maria Homeless font, from the Homelessfonts project of the Arrels Foundation in Spain, which took the individual letters of the alphabet as written by homeless people and turned them into digital fonts with the help of a graphic designer. The proceeds from the sale of these fonts go towards helping homeless people in Barcelona.
 

 
The palette employed here is quintessentially Thai. They draw from the shades of the pigments used in classical Thai painting, crafts and literary works. The colors also represent the traditional knowledge of classical Thai craftsmen and craftswomen of old, who turned the pigments found in nature to color their unique works. This painstaking care and attention to detail is also the hallmark of the Horizon center, which has established an international reputation for excellent care delivered with warmth and the international-renowned Thai hospitalities.





The white stands for the innovative treatment approaches that are clean-cut and wholesome. Dark blue is a cool and calm color, which reflects the collected attitude of the multidisciplinary team. It is actually the shade of the natural pigment that comes from the Khraam tree—true indigo—which is painstaking and complex to make, yet yields a most pleasing and satisfactory result in the end.
Red is the color of overflowing life-force. It signifies the openness and contemporaneity of the Horizon center to the latest developments in cancer treatment. The shade of red comes from Cinnabar, a primary color in traditional Thai art and a very popular color in Asian cultures. It was also used to color the character of Sugriva, one of Rama’s trusted general, in the Ramayana epic. The last color is a shade of cyan, which signifies the stories, the inspiration, encouragement and healing journey of the cancer patient. Traditionally, this color was also derived from true indigo, mixed with a little white and a touch of yellow. It is called the “waterflow” in Thai color tone system as it resembles the color of water reflecting the sky above.
 
“The patient’s hope to be free of cancer, though it appears to lie on the very edge of the horizon, is still in sight. It is a future that is within reach. It is excellence made possible,” says Dr. Narongsak Kiatkhajonthada as he interprets final detail of the Horizon Regional Cancer Center’s new logo.