My name is Sofia, I am a Brand and Packaging Designer from Italy. I studied Graphic Design at the Academy of Fine Arts, then spent two years in a professional printing studio where I learned what design really looks like beyond the screen — the materials, the finishes, the gap between a digital file and a physical object you can hold in your hands. Since then I have been working independently, focused on food and drink branding and packaging design, building a freelance practice and a community of designers through my Instagram profile. Some of my work has been recognised by Pentawards, and a packaging design of mine was selected for FBIF 2026 in Shanghai.
I decided to apply for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme because I had been working alone for years and started to feel the limits of it. The best creative work happens in exchange — a different eye on the same problem, the unexpected solution a colleague finds that you never would have reached alone. I chose the Netherlands specifically because the design culture here is open, direct, and has a strong tradition in packaging and branding that I deeply admire. I found OD Design Studio in Rotterdam after careful research, wrote them a personalised letter explaining why I believed our collaboration could be genuinely valuable for both sides, and they said yes.
My first two weeks have been everything I hoped for. From day one I was involved in real client projects — no gentle introduction, just a brief and the expectation to contribute. The team is warm, talented and welcoming, and working alongside them every day is already changing the way I think about design and about running a creative business. I am learning how a structured studio manages complex projects for large retail clients — a scale and a process I had never experienced as a freelance designer working alone.
This experience is already shaping the professional I want to become. I came here to learn, to contribute, and to grow — as a designer and as an entrepreneur.