At the opening held on Saturday, June 4th, ’22 the Sonda Creative Center was officially opened. In the next few years, the aim is to show by concrete examples how much creativity can affect the development of a community. One of the first projects launched within the Sonda Creative Center is “Designed by People” – a program of workshops that involved individuals with no previous knowledge or experience. Over the course of two months, six participants who usually have various daily jobs, had participated in the design of the Elan skis, which were then produced and will be presented at the opening, and which will eventually be available for official sale.

Together with us, the participants had the opportunity to go through the whole process of product design, do practical tasks, visit the factory and ultimately observe the promotion of a new product.

“Designed by People” will become a regular practice of the Creative Center, and Sonda will act as a link between clients and their products and people who want to encourage their creativity, and so far have not had the opportunity to try to create concrete, market-relevant products. We therefore invite brands to contact us with design needs for their products and campaigns, which would be designed by their users themselves. In this way, they will gain new insight into how they are perceived by those who use their products, and at the same time seize the opportunity for socially responsible action.

By means of socially useful and educational contents, our goal is to encourage tourist and economic development of the community. That is why the Sonda Association (Udruga Sonda) is active within the Creative Center aiming to launch projects and programs that include education on photography, design, STEAM, creative thinking and design thinking, and all in order to strengthen cooperation and connection with the local community.

The hinterland of Istria was chosen for its construction in order to contribute to the development of the part of the peninsula that is not as much of a tourist focus as its coastal part is. Cooperation was achieved with the Municipality of Vižinada through a Construction contract, and the construction was partly co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund within a project – see more about the project via link: PROJECT FIRST – Fotografije Izdavaštvo Regionalni Studio, while most of the investment Studio Sonda covered with its own funds. Within the Creative Center there is a fully equipped photo / video production studio for photography, the largest in Istria and this part of the region.

The center covers an area of ​​800 m2 and is characterized by a green roof which is entered from the hill into which the building is built. It is designed to be part of the hill and to be in harmony with the surrounding landscape. The green roof that is planned instead of the classic one is a significant element in environmental protection that has many positive characteristics in terms of impact on emissions, noise levels, production process and energetic efficiency.

When designing the space, it was crucial that it be in the function of creativity and as such be pleasant and stimulating. The result is a space that inspires us and in which together with colleagues, local community and clients, in an inspiring authentic environment of central Istria, we create globally relevant brands, products, projects and programs that have real market success, and above all that connect us.