Faculty

Designer Karen Macleod moved to Colombo to take over as principal of AOD in Colombo with the vision to make it the No 1 design school in South Asia. Karen graduated from the Northumbria University with a first class in Fashion and Textiles. Her 25 year experience in international fashion stretches across world-class brands like Max Mara (Italy), Daniel Hechter (France), Hemisphere (Japan) and many more. Karen’s work in her own company – the designer brand ‘Mr. & Mrs. MacLeod’ together with her husband (Fashion Designer – Stuart MacLeod), which focused on luxury sportswear involved a great number of prestigious international retailers; Barney’s (New York), Joseph (London), Biffi (Milan), Belinda (Sydney) and Theresa (Munich).

Joel Rapp who is an American interior designer completed his design education at the University of Arizona in the USA. His work extends from designing tableware in the jungles of Africa to designing museums in New York City. Joel hopes to bring together his sound experience on design and familiarity with advanced industrial techniques to place the AOD’s interior design students at a leading position in the world of interior architecture within the next decade.

Stuart MacLeod is a British Fashion designer who has over 25 years of experience in international fashion. Macleod studied Fashion at the Northumbria University and started his career as a design director for Daniel Hechter- Paris, followed by a career as an international design consultant and went on to develop his own successful fashion label. Along with his global vision of design, Stuart hopes to bring together his sound experience on design, his love for artisanal workmanship and familiarity with the industrial techniques to place the AOD’s fashion design students at the forefront in global fashion.

Originally from Montreal-Canada, Alain completed his formal education in Graphic Design at York University. After a successful career as a creative director in Toronto, Canada, he moved to Sri Lanka at the invitation of AOD, to enrich young minds with his knowledge and expertise in the field of Graphic Design and Advertising.

Diana completed her BA at The New School in New York (USA) with a major in Arts in Context. In addition to her extended liberal arts education, she has been a member of the Arts Students’ League since 1997, where she has participated in studies life drawing, painting, and mixed media. In her professional life, she has worked as an artist assistant for artists Pamela Lawton and Jacob Hashimoto, as well as working in interior design firms, antique textiles and decorative painting. Her interest in a range of creative disciplines has led her to experience a number of professions and applications for art and design.