Asian Games Wrap: 3 Design Choices Jakarta Got Right 🥇

The 18th Asian Games closed Sunday with China topping the medal table. Three medal-design choices the host nation made are already showing up in Thai sport medal briefs for 2019.

Specific Cultural Pattern Wins

Jakarta's batik medal pattern was instantly recognizable as Indonesian — not generic Asian. For Thai sport organizers planning 2019 events, the principle applies: pick one specific Thai cultural pattern (Lai Thai, Phasin border, temple-roof silhouette) rather than five generic Southeast Asian motifs.

Multi-Material Construction

Jakarta medals combined brass, brushed silver, and a subtle batik-color enamel inlay — three materials, three light reactions on one medal. Regional events with budgets for at least one mixed-material medal (~฿8 extra per medal) photograph dramatically better than single-material competitors.