Insights from AOD’s international faculty to the most versatile design degree inSri Lanka

Among the competitive careers with limited opportunities and prospects, visual communication design presents what is probably the broadest higher education pathway leading to hundreds of creative job opportunities across a multitude of industries and business sectors. ‘Visual communication design’ is one of the broadest creative disciplines available in the higher education spectrum today. Its vast relevance to almost every single business sector out there, means that visual communication designers are not limited to the career opportunities in just one industry— but have access to opportunities and openings in a massive range of businesses, multiplying their employment prospects into the hundreds. To get a deeper insight into it, we turned to AOD—Sri Lanka’s leading private design educator with the country’s most advanced degree in visual communication design.

AOD delivers its visual communication design degree in collaboration with the British design education giant Northumbria University UK—and delivers this powerful degree in Sri Lanka in a 100% internal manner. The degree has produced some of Sri Lanka’s most promising young visual thinkers and creative change-makers such as Pathum Egodawatte (the path-breaking typography designer working with international entities like Google) and Chani Perera (the Spikes Asia award-winner leading her own Colombo-based studio). The degree course is delivered by a mix of local and international design educators who ensure the programme stays relevant to the latest in global creative scene and the needs of the business world here in Sri Lanka. Alain Parizeau—senior lecturer of this degree course, and Anda Lupascu— the programme leader directing it shared their th oughts and ideas on what makes visual communication design such a powerful education option for modern Sri Lankan youth.

Q : What exactly is visual comcmunication design and how does it apply to busi ness?

Alain: When it comes to visual communication design, there is more to learn than how to use Photoshop software or make pretty pictures; it’s a vast subject with many specialties; each with their standards and procedures. A proper education is extremely important in order to be able to understand the language of visuals and practice as a profession. Visuals can be very powerful. When used correctly, it can connect people, brands, organizations and ideas in interesting and effective ways.

Q: Why is this degree relevant for all businesses?

Alain: All businesses use visual communication. From the very beginning of a business when they need a logo and a corporate identity designed, and later on when they need to communicate their work across digital or other media, to advertise, get packaging designed for their products or publish an annual report, visual communication design is what they turn to. And, the thing is, this is true for any business from a bank, a hotel, a restaurant to a big apparel exporter, which is what makes this degree so broadly relevant to almost any industry or sector out there.

Q: What kind of careers can your graduates access?

Anda: Depending on their individual strengths and preferences, our students get hired to design packaging, brand identity, editorial designers, and more. While some of them get into these careers through the advertising agencies or production studios, some get directly hired by companies as their resident visual communication designer. Others choose to lead their own careers as independent designers who manage their own clienteles.

Q: What can someone expect from your faculty and to learn at AOD’s VCD degree?

Alain: What you will learn is how to exercise the power of communication using the universal language of visuals. What we do as educators is shaping our students’ creativity with the right kind of study experiences so that their creativity becomes socially relevant and functional. Anda: We allow our students to tackle real-life problems and realistic situations in various sectors and situations from advertising, publishing and corporations to small businesses and even individuals. From design concept to execution and project management to delivery, our student practice each step of the process, so by the time they leave AOD they’re not only savvy in design but also in industry practices and client etiquette. It’s the total package.

AOD’s Visual Communication Design degree and Motion Graphics & Animation Design degree is now enrolling After A/Ls students, for the last few remaining spots of its 2018 intake. To learn more about studying Visual Communication Design, Motion Graphics & Animation Design, Interior Design, Fashion Design or Fashion Marketing with 100% internal design degrees from Northumbria University UK, stay tuned to AOD’s official digital channels AOD Sri Lanka on Facebook, aod_design on instagram, www.aod.lk or contact AOD on 011586772/3 or email [email protected]