AOD Creative Entrepreneurs in Interior Design make a new landscape for the profession in Sri Lanka
Chamika Wickremasinghe - CEO/ Principal Designer, Canvas Interior Design Studio: AOD Alumni Chamika Wickremasinghe is one such Interior Designer making waves in the Sri Lankan industry contributing to the space of corporate & retail interiors to residential, hospitality & the leisure sector. She started her career in Design by completing her education at AOD with the BA (Hons) First Class Degree in Interior Design. With a growing portfolio of local and international clients ranging from residential to commercial properties, Chamika is able to apply the technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and high level of professionalism imparted during her years of study, to lead her multi-disciplinary team to always set a higher bar for themselves in design –the very vision which resulted in Canvas Interior Design Studio winning the ‘Best Luxury Commercial Interior Design’ award for The Suites at Cinnamon Life, at the recently held Luxury Lifestyle Awards 2021. [http://www.canvas.lk/
Graduates from The Academy of Design’s BA (Hons) Interior Design programme have over the years formed a highly successful alumni family, and are making a name for themselves on their own terms.
They are either successful entrepreneurs leading their own teams or as professionals working for reputed local and international design firms and industry partners. Their specialties span from residential design to retail, hospitality, real estate, corporate, and event design.
Sri Lanka’s pioneering design school prides itself in being leaders in innovative and disruptive design education when it comes to producing career-ready graduates.
Our Department of Interior Design offers an immersive curriculum that is taught by experienced faculty that prepares future interior design professionals with a deep understanding of human behaviour, artistry, technical skills and digital tools required to succeed in the creative industry, while also nurturing its students’ innate passions and drive that fuel meaningful careers.
Historically interior design in Sri Lanka was a hobby that many followed thus it was viewed as merely furnishing and decorating interior spaces.
Ever since AOD introduced the first recognised degree programme in 2009 to Sri Lanka, interior design education has grown to include everything inside of a building’s exterior that affects human habitation.
This includes walls, stairs, electrical requirements, plumbing, lighting, ventilation, materials and finishes, and furnishings and ergonomics.
Ayodhaya Jayewardene – Director, Ayo interior: Ayodhaya has built her brand around elevating existing spaces with design. In 2008 she graduated with an HND Diploma of Interior Design, to launch her own eponymous architecture and interior design studio, Ayo Interiors –offering design consultancy, turnkey solutions, furniture production, and also branding and graphic solutions. She addresses and function with personalized interior solutions utilizing both traditional and contemporary elements to create exceedingly warm and inviting interiors. The AOD study experience not just armed Ayodhaya with technical expertise, but also helped her navigate the constant interaction with a multidisciplinary team in a collaborative environment. [http://ayointerior.lk/
Design in the corporate world is driven primarily by function; assessing client needs and finding optimal solutions, where graduates regularly find themselves having to apply the design and problem solving strategies set forth by a study plan that is constantly evolving to suit the needs of the time.
During the 3-year BA (Hons) Interior Design degree programme –with its curriculum set by the prestigious Northumbria University in the UK-, modules first introduce students to the core principles in the creation of human-centered and context-based design solutions that respond to the needs of an ever-changing industry landscape, before eventually guiding and then equipping the students to
develop, design, and showcase their own projects.
Taught by a diverse and internationally qualified faculty and prominent guest lecturers, the programme’s curriculum focuses not just on technical and theoretical understanding, but on professionalism and the knowledge of contemporary practice that will truly prepare its students to stand out in a dynamic and competitive field.
Located at Colombo Innovation Tower –the epicenter of creativity in South Asia- in addition to a superior course layout, AOD comes equipped with unparalleled resources and cutting-edge infrastructure, so students can expect to learn and create with the same spaces, tools, digital applications and devices that working professionals use in
the industry.
Aside from its address being a hub of innovation where students get to rub shoulders and connect with an eclectically diverse creative community, the university also presents several opportunities for its students to showcase their projects and work outside of the classroom –not just gaining industry know-how, but also the potential of being discovered by some of the
largest industry heads in the country and beyond.
Among the ever-expanding list of successful AOD alumni, aspiring interior designers don’t have to look too far to find inspiration from graduates who were once also creative hopefuls who just like themselves:
AOD invites Sri Lanka’s young design aspirants who have just completed their O/Ls and A/Ls to learn more about the Design Foundation and Degree programmes offered at the university, and of how
an immersive UK-accredited degree can open up endless doors of opportunities.
For more information
and registrations
call 077 572 7772, follow
us on Instagram
@aod_design or hit AOD.LK
Amoda Rathnayake - Managing Director/ Founder, Amoda Rathnayake Associates Amoda has never been intimidated by male-dominated boardrooms and construction sites, determined to carve out her own space regardless of stumbling blocks. On graduation from AOD with her Interior Design degree in hand, she entered the workforce as a hired professional. However, in 2012 Amoda branched out on her own, and in 2015 Amoda Rathnayake Associates was born; and soon after, its construction arm, Jayabuilders Pvt. Ltd in 2018. From humble beginnings, her firm has grown into having a rich portfolio of private and multinational clients, providing design solutions rooted in simplicity, but driven by the aesthetics, emotions, and function of space – the confidence in an expression of individuality sharpened by design educators cultivating an environment for students to flourish. [https://www.ara.lk/
Yan Tao - Property Development Executive, Port City Colombo Design-led property development is not often considered a potential career move following an Interior Design degree, but where innovative spaces can reflect in generating profitable sales for an up and coming real estate development, AOD alumnus Yan Tao is paving the way. Following his graduation, Yan was quick to secure a position at Sri Lanka’s most ambitious project to date, where he is now able to confidently apply the multidisciplinary education and industry training he was equipped with from the university.
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