Sophie Bolsani
When design speaks internationally: mobility at Elisava, Barcelona
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Sophie Bolsani is an assistant in the Bachelor’s program in Visual Communication at DACD. In her second year of tenure, she conducted a workshop in Art Direction at ELISAVA – School of Design and Engineering in Barcelona during the summer of 2025.
How did you discover the Elisava workshop, and what motivated you to choose Barcelona for your mobility experience?
For my Continuing Education, I was looking for a course in Art Direction, and after exploring the offerings of various universities, I found that the Elisava workshop fully met my needs and objectives.
What was the most significant aspect of the course in terms of professional and personal growth?
I had the opportunity to challenge myself in many ways, starting with the personal aspect: I attended a school in a language I was still learning, in a new city, alongside students from all over the world. This experience allowed me to gain greater confidence in my independence, language skills, and social interactions, a richness that only an experience like this can offer.
What made it even more valuable was the course content itself, which was extremely engaging and aligned with my future ambitions.
In the post-mobility questionnaire, you mentioned that language was both a challenge and an opportunity: how did linguistic immersion influence your experience?
Being surrounded by international students and teachers, all connected by the Spanish language, was a challenge that pushed me to engage fully and immerse myself in conversation and interpersonal relationships. I was able to expand my vocabulary, learning new terminology, expressions, and accents characteristic of the diverse backgrounds of my peers.
During the workshop, you developed an art direction project supported by artificial intelligence. Can you tell us how it unfolded and what you learned from this international collaboration?
The project proved to be extremely stimulating, organized in an intensive and effective way to foster both theoretical learning and practical application at every stage of the design process. Throughout the lessons, we tackled all the phases that an art director experiences during a project while also getting to know the various professional roles that support them. For timing reasons and due to the concept of the workshop itself, these roles were replaced by artificial intelligence, which we experimented with and “trained” as a group to create the visual product.
Each group developed an art direction project from start to finish, combining each participant’s prior knowledge, from personal culture to academic and professional experience, elements that made every participant unique and at the same time essential for the completion of the final project.
What advice would you give to colleagues considering a similar mobility experience, and how do you plan to share your experience within your department?
I would advise anyone considering a mobility experience to seize the opportunity and go explore, but above all, to discover themselves. You return home enriched with experience, confidence, knowledge, and new connections.
I have shared my experience with my closest colleagues, but I am always happy to discuss it with other curious peers. Sharing it in person allows you to convey the enthusiasm of someone who has lived it, and I believe this adds an authentic and contagious value.