The 2022 Sri Lanka Design Festival launched under the theme ‘Design Lokayak’, revealing a panorama of possibilities enabled through local innovation, creativity and design, bridging local talent, processes and materials with global markets.  

This year’s festival will provide a platform for local designers, entrepreneurs, and businesses that are working through economic challenges. By connecting inspiring solutions, ideas, and processes that are locally rooted, yet relevant to audiences all over the world, SLDF aims to encourage greater participation of Sri Lanka’s creative sectors in its economic recovery. Design is an enabler available to Sri Lanka to create even more export-ready products that are globally relevant using local industries.

Development considering only the local scale is not sufficient, and this is where designing for international markets becomes so important. All the projects, designers, entrepreneurs, companies and brands that SLDF turns the spotlight towards this year, are living examples of this idea of designing locally and sustainably, within Sri Lanka with the world consumer in mind. Sri Lanka Design Festival returns from December 2nd to 4th 2022, with the ‘panoramically new, panoramically local, design lokayak’ bringing together a series of exhibitions, shows, talks and knowledge-sharing sessions looking at the panorama of possibilities that this vision presents. 

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Sri Lanka as well as the AOD Grad Exhibition will be two key events held as a part of SLDF 2022. Collaborations between designers and local industries, top companies & knowledge-led initiatives pioneered by key diplomatic missions, design exhibitions, workshops and forums and talks are listed as part of the event. Participants can expect to see an inspiring viewpoint into what design and innovation can deliver in terms of commercial solutions, and how fostering an entrepreneurial culture gives rise to successful business ecosystems. 

SLDF 2022 holds key lessons for recovery and resilience that would help young entrepreneurs, students and business owners to shift their perspectives for a wider view and overcome challenges. ‘Panoramically new, panoramically local, design lokayak’ premised on creativity, innovative capacity, and talent— things that Sri Lanka has in abundance— showcases design as a powerful leveller that should utilize the island’s untapped potential and bring about new sustainable modes of product development. 

This timely vision directly responds and looks to foster a broader design vision that would support development by bridging local talent, processes and materials with global markets. This edition of SLDF featuring local creators and innovators is poised to inspire Sri Lankans as much as international attendees. Adopting a panoramic vision is so necessary for surviving and thriving. It’s about not looking at business, solutions or ideas in silos. It’s about learning to look at the whole picture, taking into consideration even the imperfect or difficult aspects of it. This allows us to spot connections and decipher important relevances between makers and markets that seem far or disconnected; this is how new economic opportunities are brought about. 

This vision was adopted for SLDF 2022 staying true to the festival’s continuing core of supporting local design talent and industries to grow beyond the island and reach international markets. This vision also borrows from the best of localism and globalism—that is, to source from close to home and employ local talent while understanding and empathizing with the needs of markets beyond borders. Panoramically new, panoramically local, design lokayak will be a welcome vision channelling hope, courage and resilience.

Sri Lanka Design Festival is presented by AOD, Sri Lanka’s pioneering Design Campus, and will be hosted at the Colombo Innovation Tower (CIT) - 477. R. A. De Mel Mawatha, Colombo 04. If you’re looking for more information on the festival, or looking to employ creative talent or explore design, drop by CIT between 9am - 5pm or call us on 077 572 7772.