Sophie Brodtkorb

Graduation Date
Oktober 2018

Study Programme
Brand Design B. A. – Communication Design

Title of Thesis
Happiness Design

Hi Sophie, what have you been up to since your graduation from Brand Academy?
After submitting my bachelor thesis, I first worked for two months in my working student job in an interface design agency while I was still enrolled. After that I immediately started a full-time job, which I got due to my 6-week internship at university.

Where do you work now and what are your tasks?
Currently I work as Temporary Assistant – Design at Jung von Matt/Brand Identity. As the name suggests, this is the part of the agency that doesn’t deal with advertising, but with branding. With some projects I have the chance to create a completely new brand identity – from logo to all brand elements. In the end, the customer receives the appropriate brand manual. But sometimes they are also individual projects, such as new packaging or redesign of brands.

What’s your greatest challenge at work?
The greatest challenge for me is the transition from studying to working life. The knowledge one has acquired is now used on daily basis. Many things you think you know are more detailed and more difficult to implement than you initially thought.

What do you like about your job?
It fascinates me to exchange ideas with other designers and to learn from people with more experience. Because I sit at work every day, I have the opportunity to delve deeply into a subject and get intensely involved with it. Even though I have already gained an insight into working with real customers through practical projects, it is exciting to know that my ideas are implemented in the real world.

What are your plans for the future?
If everything works a planned, I will start an M.Sc. in Psychology of the Arts, Neuroaesthetics and Creativity in London in September 2019. In general, I would like to continue working on my bachelor thesis – how can design be used to make people happier? Maybe in the future I’ll discover exactly the right job position for it.

Looking back at Brand Academy, what do you see?
The studies at the BA, with its strong focus on brands, gave me a good understanding of the fact that design is not just about making something “beautiful”. As a designer at Jung von Matt/Brand Identity, I apply this understanding every day. The Brand Academy helped me to get to know several areas of design and to combine the creative with the academic.

Do you have any advice for prospect students or first semesters?
I would recommend first semester students to use all contacts of professors and practical partners. This is how I got my internship and my job in the end.

What do you do when you’re not working?
In my spare time I like doing yoga, meeting friends and going out for a nice meal.