Sanja Rocco

Sanja Rocco, PhD is a freelance designer and creative director in the field of visual communications. She has interdisciplinary education (architecture, marketing). For years, she has also been active in the international design organization (ico-D) as a member of executive board and she also promotes the design profession on the Croatian domestic design scene at the international design exhibition (zgraf.hr). She is a member of Croatian national professional associations: Ulupuh – Section for design and visual communication & Croatian design society (HDD).

She participated in numerous design exhibitions and competitions (including Nairobi Design Week 2024 and 2025), and her work earned domestic and international awards and recognition.

Let’s highlight a few: Gold Award – European Letterhead Design Competition, London 1998;  Merrit Award – 78th Art Directors Club, New York, 1999,  co-author Tadej Bratelj; Honorable Mention – Biennial of Design BIO 15, Ljubljana 1999; Crni mačak (Black Cat) Award for CD cover design – Ruke by Darko Rundek, 2003; Silver winner 2023 - European Design Awards – for Black&White greeting cards, 2023.

Her works were published in: Print European Annual 2000; AREA: 10 critics/100 graphic designers/10 curators, Phaidon London NY, 2003; The art of persuasion, MUO, 2005; Vukić, Margolin: Hrvatski dizajn sad/Croatian Design Now, UPI3M, Zagreb 2009 etc. She also took part in the work of many international and domestic design judging panels.

Sanja has strong bonds with Kenya (her ex-husband is Kenyan and her daughter is actively engaged in East African culture & heritage). Sanja follows and promotes African art and design for a long time. Together with her daughter, she established an association for promoting African culture in Croatia. For ten years they organized African Week in Zagreb. Sanja was also the author of exhibitions dedicated to African contemporary design (Another Africa - African contemporary design in 2013 / and  ,Inspired by Africa - African textile and fashion design’ in 2014, Ulupuh Gallery in Zagreb, Croatia).

More info at: https://sanjarocco.com/