Head Table panelist

The Department of Integrated Design of the University of Moratuwa is set to host a week-long celebration of Product Design, Fashion and Lifestyle Design, Media and Communication Design - the highly anticipated ‘Sri Lanka Design Week 2018’. The event will take place from 7th-12th August at Arcade Independence Square, Colombo and will provide a platform for the programme’s students, graduates and industry best practitioners, to showcase their work and design capabilities across a broad spectrum of designspecializations. 

Presented by Design Code, the organizing body of the Department, the initiative is a creative collaboration between the university and Leo Burnett Sri Lanka, Balmond Studios,the Lanka Association of Designers and Design Development Corporation. Cargills (Ceylon) PLC has stepped forward as the platinum sponsor of the event, with HirdaramaniGroup of Companies as the Gold sponsor, Antyra Solutions being the digital partner and Print Care serving as the official print partner. Other partners that have extended their support to the initiative include; Atlas Axillia, Anim8, the Softwave Group of Companies, 99x Technologies, Impulse, JF&I Packaging (Pvt) Ltd, Barefoot and Lanka Tiles PLC.

Arosha Perera – CEO, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka 

‘Sri Lanka Design Week 2018’ will celebrate interactions, integrations and the innovations in creativity and design, amongst students, educators, practicing professionals and designers. The University of Moratuwa has long been heralded as a pioneer of higher design education in Sri Lanka, and this unique event will help to strengthen its position at the forefront of creative-based education in the country. Students from the university’s Department of Integrated Design, who are part of a four-year Bachelor of Honours Degree programme will be able to share their work and creative concepts at the event. These students are specializing in a wide variety of design disciplines’. They are continuously focusing on merging creativity with functionality to create signature designs that are unique and have an individual identity. 

The week will feature a compilation of mini-events around the theme of ‘Design in Sri Lanka’ – and will be dedicated to creating awareness of and conserving novel design knowledge. The event will be kickstarted with an inauguration ceremony, which will be open to all members of the public to attend. A keynote address will provide a comprehensive overview of this year’s theme by Prasoon Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO billionBricks| President*s Design Awardee | TEDx speaker | Forbes contributor. He will speak ondesigning a nation: who cares! 

The inauguration will be further bring glamour with the awarding ceremony of the Sri Lanka Design Award 2018, in partnership with Cargills (Ceylon) PLC. The following 4 awards will be presented: Young Sri Lankan Designer Award, Young Global Designer Award, Young Sri Lankan Designer of the Year 2018 Award and the ‘Most popular Design’ Award.  The first two awards will be given to the respective fields of design: Product Design, Fashion and Lifestyle Design, Media and Communication Design. The official design exhibition will thereafter be opened.  The exhibition will be opened to the public on each day until the 12th of August 2018 from 8.30am to 7.30pm. The exhibition space will include an interactive live studio space to instill the designer in you. Along with the work of the university’s undergraduates, there will also be an area dedicated to the appreciation and celebration of selected companies in Sri Lanka that have excelled in the local design industry and facilitated its transformation and growth. 

 Ajai V Singh – Founder, Colombo Fashion Week & Responsible Fashion Movement

The ‘Design Research Conference 2018’, one of the main highlights of the week, will be held on the 11th of August 2018 from 9.00am to 2.00pm at the Sports Ministry Auditorium. The event will be an international peer-reviewed conference focused on design research that seeks to examine the importance of design knowledge, whilst understanding the connections between design, theory and pedagogy. The conference keynote speaker will be Praveen Nahar, Product Design Senior Faculty, National Institute of Design, India.The conference vision speaker will be Sonia Manchanda, a Design Strategist and Graphic Designer with more than twenty years of experience in building creative organizations in India. The theme of the conference will be centered around the ‘Future of Integration in Design’ and the conference will provide insight on several research papers by student presenters. 
 
The ‘Design Forum’ will be held on the 11th of August 2018 at 7.00pm to 9.00pm at the Sports Ministry Auditorium. The forum will be an in-depth panel discussion that will provide an opportunity for attendees to discuss industrial views, needs and the expectations of design practice and design thinking. The panel will consist of Malik J Fernando - Managing Director of Resplendent Ceylon, Chevaan Daniel - Group Director of The Maharaja Organization and Peter D’ Almeida - Managing Director and Chief Executive of N-able.It will be moderated by Dr. Sumanthri Samarawickrama from the Department of Integrated Design, University of Moratuwa.
 
A series of design talks and workshops will also be held over three days at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, highlighting the importance of design and how it integrates with other aspects of creativity. Nine reputed designers and academics from both the local and international industry will conduct talks and workshops related to specializing fields; Product Design (08th of August 2018), Media & Communication Design (09th of August 2018) and Fashion & Lifestyle Design (10th of August 2018). Thus, one day will hold three design talks and one workshop related to each field. Interested participants for the talks, workshops, Design Forum, Research Conference should pre-register on www.designcode.lk in order to attend.

James Balmond - Creative Director, Balmond Studio
 
An ‘Interactive Live Studio Space’ will be dedicated to sharing a few of the skills acquired by the students spread through the fields of Fashion and Lifestyle Design, Product Design, Media and Communication Design. An appreciation for craft will be instilled as a core value within all the live studio activities. Through the studio component of the event, we expect to spark a passion for designing within the participants, so that they can tap into their own potential and skills with renewed zest and motivation. The Live studio activities will take place on the 08th, 09th and 10th of August, at the Arcade Independence Square from 9.30am to 7.30pm and will be opened to public. For more information you may log in to www.designcode.lk

The ‘Creative Thinker’ workshops will be aimed at school children, from selected Western Province schools, and will focus on nurturing young design minds on how to think out of the box. The workshop will guide young participants on creative thinking and help them to generate novel ideas. This event will take place on the 12th of August 2018 at the Arcade Independence Square and is partnered with Atlas Axillia Co. (Pvt) Ltd.
 
This year’s ‘Sri Lanka Design Week 2018’, will conclude with an extravagant fashion show curated by Ajaivir Singh on the 12th of August 2018 at the Arcade Independence Square from 6.30pm onwards. The show will feature, work that has been created by students of the university’s Department of Integrated Design. The show will include the Graduating batch’s’ final year fashion collections, level three Fashion and Lifestyle Design projects, level two Culture Code 2018 Fashion drapes. It will also showcase designs ofstudent group projects for the Responsible Fashion Hackathonby Design Development Cooperation.The most responsible fashion designer will be presentedthe “Best Responsible Fashion Designer Award" during this show.The Fashion showispartnered with Hirdaramani Group of Companies.The show will conclude with a lifetime felicitation award given toChandramaniThenuwara, an individual who has made a substantial contribution to the growth of design in our country.

Dr. Sumanthri Samarawickrama - Senior Lecturer, Event Chair, Department of Integrated Design, University of Moratuwa

‘Sri Lanka Design Week 2018’ will deliver a range of platforms and experiences that will celebrate design on multiple levels. Set to inspire the public as well as young professionals, students, and industry movers and shakers, whilst fueling meaningful discussions that will shape the industry, this event will play a pivotal role in shaping past, present and future generations of Sri Lankan designers.