Creating Design Ambassadors for SL
Every country in this world has an identity – we discussed how influential this is in ‘ nation branding’ and how it affects us all. Today I hope to discuss the importance of creating design ambassadors from Sri Lanka, the process behind this and how it will benefit the local creative community and the entire country.
Who is a Sri Lankan design ambassador? A Sri Lankan design ambassador is essentially a creative professional who stands as a benchmark for the quality of SL design, to the rest of the world. I’m sure you understand how serious this is – it is basically a person who represents the quality of creative outcomes from an entire nation – the same way an iconic singer will speak for the musical talent of a nation, an iconic designer has the capability to stand for design from his/ her country and elevate this important profile across the world.
So how do we create design ambassadors? This is a two- way process. First our designers need to get first- hand experience of the global design culture. This cannot wait until they’re professionals- this is a process that needs to begin while they’ re young students. This means their curriculum should include opportunities to go on study tours to world design capitals where they can see a clear design identity, meet influential designers and expand their horizons. This is how we start cultivating a designer whose vision already includes the best the world has to offer so that it becomes a starting point to keep going further. Secondly, they need to be trained to make the best of the unique aspects from their home country. We have discussed this in detail when we spoke about how a local designer can have inimitable value when he/ she is ‘ locally rooted yet globally relevant’; i. e.- providing something of global standards, but with a unique local edge.
How do we present our ambassadors? As a professional in the design education sector, I understand the responsibility we have to not only create design ambassadors, but also to make sure their good work is seen by the world. Just last week, a young Sri Lankan fashion designer represented a SL campus on the pre s t i g i o u s Graduate Fashion Week in London for the first time. This year, a graphic designer won the firstever global ISTD award for our country; ISTD in fact remarked that this is the first time they’re seeing SL design talent and they’re extremely impressed by it. Recently, we sent another graphic design graduate to represent SL at a prestigious typographic conference in India and he received a standing ovation. Last year, the first ever SL delegation was invited for the iconic London Fashion Week… This is how w e present our design ambassadors to the world. As you can see from the incidents I mentioned above, we’re seeing a great start to establishing our design identity through young, fresh and talented designers produced through good design education.
How does this all benefit our country? Design, as I’ve mentioned many times over, is a powerindustry of the future. While we’re now established as a good manufacturing nation with excellent products from apparel, tea to cinnamon the future lies in enhancing the value of these products. Whether it’s through sustainable design, packaging or successful branding design, the key to this valueaddition is ‘ design’. The benefits of this will not only reach the designer but our entire community through our supply chain.