‘MORE FROM TOMORROW’
Design Career Month brings aspiring designers a step closer to accessing careers of tomorrow
The world is changing and consumer and business needs change along with it. The World Economic Forum recognizes ‘creativity’ as one of the top three employable skills by 2020 and the next generation who are being groomed to take on the future of these businesses must be equipped with this skill in order to make use of the number of opportunities presented to them. Careers of the future will consist of business needs that are not yet even formulated and the ability to think different, see the world differently and push the limits of your creativity. Recognizing the need for building such skills and educating young students on these new careers, AOD p resented ‘ MORE FROM TOMORROW’ Design Career Month introducing students who are postO/L’s and A/L’s to the opportunities out there for designers and the level of education needed to access future careers in design.
AOD’s Design Career Month introduces after O/L and A/L students to careers in Interior Design, Visual Communication Design and Animation Design with the Fashion Design focused event taking place next.
What is ‘MORE FROM TOMORROW’ all about?
Day One of ‘ MORE FROM TOMORROW’ focused on Motion Graphics and Animation Design with an introduction to the subject and how it contributes to a number of industries such as the entertainment industry including film and gaming, medical, construction, IT, advertising and many more. The participants had the chance to engage in studio sessions that demonstrated Visual Effects and the processes involved in creating VFX shots and effects including camera tracking, lighting, rendering and compositing a shot. They also got a hands- on experience in story development and screenwriting, learning about the basic principles and screenwriting tools. The students were fascinated by the global opportunities offered through this unusual career path where an Animation Designer could go on to work in any industry contributing their rare skills to businesses or even start out on their own, establishing personal design studios and moving into content creation, filmmaking and gaming.
The Interior Design focused event was held on the second week of May and with the overwhelming demand for interior designers in Sri Lanka this proved to be one of the most popular sessions. Attendees were given an exclusive insight to interior design and its career paths from AOD’s Alumni including Chamika Wickremasinghe, Founder of Canvas Interior Design Studio and Madara Wickremasinghe, Interior Designer at Canvas Interior Design Studio. This interactive session inspired young students trying to find their passion for design to work on what they love to do and gave a glimpse of a possible future as an Interior Designer. They were also able to tour the Island Craft store; Island Craft being one of AOD’s special projects which empower local artisans and uplift local craft. The tour gave an insight to how products are designed, made and retailed with designers playing a key role in the process. The studio sessions revolved around a major element of interior design; lighting. They learnt how elements in interior design work together and how designers have to combine safety, human ergonomics, lighting as well as keep in mind how human interaction and behaviour takes place in the spaces they design. With the number of hospitality and residential projects happening in Colombo, Interior Designers have a number of opportunities to work in the industry.
Visual Communication Design was the focus on Day Three with young aspiring designers discovering the many industries that offer opportunities for visual communication designers such as advertising, media, publishing, marketing, retail, film and many more. Creative interviews were held for those who love to draw and create to bring in their sketchbooks, drawings and ideas to be reviewed by design pros in the industry. This provided them with a rare opportunity to get a professional opinion on their work and find out points for improvements. It also gave them a glimpse of what the design industry is looking for and how they should have commercial needs in mind when designing as well. An ongoing studio session focused on branding and how branding defines an organization’s personality and values and what sort of role a designer plays when generating branding concepts and designs. Design talks given by AOD Graduates illuminated how diverse the opportunities are for visual communication designers and what skills and knowledge the industry is looking for.
What’s next for ‘MORE FROM TOMORROW’?
The last session of Design Career Month will focus on Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing. While the apparel industry in Sri Lanka is a multi-billion dollar industry which supplies for global brands, the fashion retail sphere is growing in leaps and bounds. Those who attend the session on the 26th of May will get the chance to learn about the new careers in fashion design and fashion marketing and how they can access these careers through design education and industry training. Studio sessions will introduce attendees to elements in fashion marketing such as trend forecasting and style editorials while fashion textile designing will give them a hands-on experience on how art and design can be combined in fashion design. The morning session will also include fashion talks conducted by AOD alumni and successful fashion designers aimed to inspire young students to explore their passion for design much further.
‘More from Tomorrow – Design Career Month’ will focus on Fashion Design & Textiles and Fashion Design & Marketing on the 26th of May from 10.00am to 4.00pm
Call 0775727772 to pre-register f or MORE FROM TOMORROW Design Career Month and discover the series of free events, workshops, talks, and focused career guidance sessions. For more information on the careers of tomorrow and how creativity plays a central dynamic in them, stay tuned to AOD’s official digital channels w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / AODSriLanka, www. aod. lk or contact AOD on 011586772/3 or email info@aod.lk