What’s Your Colombo?, a two-year, design-led initiative by the Sri Lanka Design Festival (SLDF), conceptualised by the Academy of Design (AOD), has set out to celebrate Colombo as a creative, cultural, and experiential capital through the eyes of its people.
Launched in partnership with Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams, one of Colombo’s most dynamic destinations for culture, business, and leisure, the campaign invites citizens, communities, and brands to rediscover the city through design, storytelling, and collaboration.
As part of AOD’s mission to extend design thinking beyond industries into the public realm, What’s Your Colombo? demonstrates how design can influence the spaces we inhabit, the stories we tell, and the futures we imagine. Through SLDF, Sri Lanka’s leading platform for creative dialogue and innovation, AOD brings together education, industry, Government, and the public to reveal how cities can be redefined through creativity and design-led thinking.
AOD Founder and Chairperson Linda Speldewinde said: ‘What’s Your Colombo? began as an idea. For too long, people have passed through Colombo without really seeing it, perhaps because we haven’t yet found the words to describe what our city truly is. So, what is Colombo? It’s many Colombos-yours, mine, ours-each with its own soul.
Through the SLDF, we want to reimagine how both we and our visitors see our city. We’re doing this through the lens of design, but we’re also inviting everyone to share their Colombo: their words, stories, moments, memories, and expressions in any form that feels right. Our city is too precious to be left without its own narration. We wanted to use this opportunity to do something for Sri Lanka, and had the perfect partner in Cinnamon Life, who also believes in narrating Colombo through the eyes of its people.
It’s about seeing the city through the eyes of its people, to understand Colombo not through architecture or infrastructure alone, but through lived experiences. It’s about how design helps us connect with our surroundings and with each other. This movement celebrates Colombo’s icons, its everyday citizens, and the creative spirit that defines who we are. Design gives us the language to articulate that identity and to imagine what comes next.’
Phase One of What’s Your Colombo? focuses on building awareness and emotional connection with the city through storytelling and creative experiences. The campaign brings together some of Colombo’s most recognisable icons, designers, entrepreneurs, artists, and community leaders, who share their personal interpretations of the city in a series of short films, photographs, and social stories.
These reflections, from the quiet corners of old neighbourhoods to the vibrant pulse of new cultural spaces, collectively weave a portrait of Colombo as a city of many layers and perspectives.
The movement extends to the streets through Experience Colombo Trails, curated by SLDF, that guide residents and visitors along design-led routes exploring intersections of fashion, food, art, and architecture. The Experience Colombo Passport complements these routes, inviting people to participate in creative activities, culinary stops, and retail experiences. Participants who complete a series of experiences gain exclusive access to events such as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Sri Lanka, reinforcing the link between design, lifestyle, and community.
Cinnamon Life, City of Dreams Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer/General Manager Sanjiv Hullugalle said: ‘Colombo is more than a capital-it’s a living story. At Cinnamon Life, we see ourselves as the city’s living room; a place where creativity, culture, and community come together. What’s Your Colombo? is our way of opening those doors even wider-to celebrate the city’s vibrant energy and the people who define its spirit.’
‘Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams was envisioned as a space where creativity, connection, and community come together-and we’re proud to be part of a movement that gives voice to Colombo’s evolving identity. Our collaboration with AOD through the Sri Lanka Design Festival reflects a shared belief that design, culture, and hospitality have the power to shape not only how we experience a city, but how a city defines itself. We look forward to continuing this journey and inspiring more people to discover their own Colombo.’
The first phase of the movement will culminate at Sri Lanka Design Festival 2025, where AOD and Cinnamon Life will present the outcomes of Phase One and unveil Phase Two of the initiative. The event aims to bring together key partners including Sri Lanka Tourism, the Colombo Municipal Council, Cinnamon Life, and leading creative and academic institutions. It will feature a public exhibition of What’s Your Colombo? films and photographs, alongside a design dialogue exploring how storytelling evolves into city-making.
Set for rollout in 2026, Phase Two will take the movement from storytelling to co-creation. It will engage schools, institutions, and civic bodies to embed design as a strategic driver of Colombo’s identity and sustainability. Monthly themed programs will unite citizens, policymakers, and creators around shared goals that celebrate Colombo by design.
By the close of 2026, What’s Your Colombo? aims to position Colombo as South Asia’s emerging creative capital-a city that expresses itself through design and storytelling. The initiative will culminate in SLDF 2026, capturing how design has helped shape the city’s evolving identity.
Ultimately, What’s Your Colombo? seeks to make every citizen a storyteller and every story a building block in Colombo’s living narrative.
As Linda Speldewinde adds: ‘Design gives us the ability to see what’s special about our city and to share it with the world. Colombo is a city of a million stories and through design, we’re learning to tell them together.’
Join the movement. Experience the city through new eyes. Explore the trails, share ‘your Colombo,’ and be part of a design movement redefining how we see and live our city.