AOD students instil design in to craft revival and livelihood restoration projects in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development

Design can serve as an important value addition to products and services.  In addition, design and creativity can also play the role of an effective job provider and a poverty relief method. Understanding the crucial role that design could play in Sri Lanka’s development, AOD has catalysed a special project in collaboration with Sri Lanka’s ministry of Economic Development to involve the war-effected persons in the North and East regions of Sri Lanka. This project places AOD’s students in direct contact with rural communities and artisans and helps the students to evolve in to socially responsible design professionals.

 

The Centre for Creative Enterprise

The Centre for Creative Enterprise (CCE) is a subsidiary project of the Academy of Design. CCE is an organization dedicated to the empowerment of Sri Lankan designers and craftsmen and helping them to achieve commercial skills in order to secure successful trades and sources of revenue, while assuring the promotion of Sri Lanka’s creative industries.

 

Objectives and Strategies of the CCE

• Formulate and grow creativity in the younger generation
• Giving all children a creative education
• Turning talent into jobs
• Entrepreneurship development program
• Projects with Designers and Crafts People
• Supporting research and innovation
• Promoting Sri Lanka’s creative industries
• Helping creative businesses grow and access to finance
• Supporting creative clusters

Fostering and protecting intellectual property

Industry projects: Networking for the future

Among the strong advantages AOD Students have is the close network AOD has with the design industry in Sri Lanka. Through this network, live projects and competitions are set for students where students design for clients directly. This gives them the opportunity to achieve great exposure in professional practice in communicating design solutions both to clients, sticking to deadlines and professional design briefs. Students also get accustomed to developing a clear rationale for their work and get the ability of being able to make professional presentations and sell their ideas to a panel of potential clients – a must for any designer. These live projects are combined with industry visits to give students a better insight into these industries and an opportunity for brand research prior to design. Academy of Design students have conducted successful live projects with local and international industry leaders from various sectors such as Brandix, Dialog, NEXT, Saaraketha, Triumph and many more.

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