Jana Satana Pada Yathra 2016 - Promotional Vehicle Design and Active Participation

Date: 28 July - 1 August 2016
Location: Peradeniya to Colombo, Sri Lanka
Event: Jana Satana Pada Yathra 2016
Organized by: Joint Opposition
My Contribution: Complete Graphic Design of the Promotional Vehicle and Active Participation in the March
Team: Hadawathe Janadhipathi Mahinda
Graphic Designer: Isura Wickramarachchi

The Jana Satana Pada Yathra was a major political protest march organized by Sri Lanka's Joint Opposition in 2016 against the government of the time. The five-day march began in Peradeniya on 28 July 2016 and concluded in Colombo on 1 August 2016.

Our Hadawathe Janadhipathi Mahinda Team actively participated in the march and undertook a special creative project by preparing a promotional vehicle for the event.

I personally designed the complete graphic artwork for this promotional vehicle. The design featured an image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, symbolic illustrations representing public participation, vibrant colour combinations, and promotional messages associated with the march.

My objective was to create more than a conventional political banner. I wanted to develop a visually distinctive design that would be suitable for a moving vehicle, remain clearly visible from a distance, and effectively represent our team's identity.

The artwork was designed to cover a large section of the vehicle's exterior, combining bold typography, colourful graphics, and prominent visual elements into a unified composition.

Following the completion of my graphic design, our team members worked together to prepare the vehicle. This included arranging the printed banners, attaching them to the vehicle, and completing the necessary preparations for its participation in the procession.

Our involvement extended beyond designing and preparing the vehicle. The Hadawathe Janadhipathi Mahinda Team actively participated in the march and its associated activities, making the event an important experience in our collective political involvement.

As a professional graphic designer, this project provided an opportunity to apply my creative knowledge and technical experience to a large-scale public event. It demonstrated how visual communication and practical design could be integrated into the activities of a political organization.

The Jana Satana Pada Yathra of 2016 remains memorable to me not only because of our active participation, but also because it was an occasion when my own creative work became part of an event involving a large public gathering.

This project holds a distinctive place in my personal archive, representing the intersection of graphic design, teamwork, creative production, and political participation during an important period of my life.