AOD Creative Entrepreneurs in Interior Design make a new landscape for the profession in Sri Lanka

A look at some of the programme’s most notable alumni & their Interior Design Practices

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 careerready 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. We emphasise the intelligent use of space to promote functionality, sustainability, health and wellbeing.

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