Sri Lankan Graphic Design Goes Global
Sri Lanka’s graphic design sector has had a record development within the last few years. From being commonly misconstrued as computer software knowledge and printing, SL graphic design is now becoming increasingly important to many industries as the creative and strategic solution provider for packaging, book design, logo design, branding, campaign design and many more growing demands.
Providing a memorable premier for Sri Lankan graphic design in the global design capital London at the annual Alchemy Festival, a selection of local graphic design was showcased including an impressive series of typographic research and design.
This marked one of the occasions where ‘design’ was used as a medium to portray a cross section of Sri Lanka, its issues and more importantly the creative solutions coming about to resolve them.
For example, a complete set of Sinhala graphics designed for digital use portrayed the increasing computer literacy in Sri Lanka and how more people seeking to see their native language on screen.Another example of the work featured is the hybrid alphabet that brings together Sinhala and Tamil language and creates an alphabet legible to both Sinhalese and Tamil nationals. This project attempted to provide a typographic solution to racial harmony by prompting people to focus on similarities opposed to differences.
As you can see, these projects provide honest and interesting insights into the developments of the Sri Lankan society as well as the young generation that is keen to l ook beyo n d differences.It was a refreshing portrayal of Sri Lanka to havelocal graphic design initiating a global dialogue and especially, a dialogue that provided an interesting and hopeful insight into Sri Lankan society.
For the local graphic design sector, this international recogni- tion triggers a worldwide reputation that contributes to Sri Lanka’s image as a regional creative hub by crossing borders and starting an international dialogue. The presence of Sri Lankan graphic design in London is part of the beginnings of a growing interest on interesting, socially relevant design originating from Sri Lanka. Parallel to Sri Lanka being invited to take part in annually by the British Council, 2014 also saw several other achievements in design like Sri Lanka’s first campus entry at Graduate Fashion Week UK, and the country’s first ISTD winner. All this, marks a wave of recognition for new Sri Lankan design and also the transformation of design into a rewarding career path with global opportunities for young, educated designers.As the world is getting smaller, opportunities are growing larger. The futurewill be driven by sectors like design that can adapt to meet the needs of amore interconnected world. This is why it is one of the crucial careers we need to prepare our children for.