Product design may be an extremely exciting and rewarding career option in today’s fast-paced and highly competitive world, where the demand for creative thinking skills is rapidly growing. Product design is the process of imagining, developing, and refining products that meet specific market needs and solve user issues. A product designer is someone who manages the whole product design process or works to improve an already-existing product.
“My name is Sofia Calvo, and I am an entrepreneur, designer, lawyer, and inventor in Lima, Peru. I own Markkus Design Company and serve as the general manager and head of the department of the international magazine THE DESIGNER in Peru. I love design and I believe that it is a fundamental part of the formation of a better world. I am dedicated to making people smile on their faces, and I bring my culture to the world through The Designer. My vision, hard work, and determination led me to extend the magazine to the brother country of Colombia in Cali and Cartago, weaving cultures, customs, and art,” Sofia said in her introduction. THE DESIGNER is an art & culture magazine based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Sofia is unique in that she has been enthralled by Art since she was a child. Her first creation, a picture frame composed of colored rubber, ice cream sticks, and paint, was created when she was five years old. She took first place in a design contest when she was seven years old.
Sofia’s distinguished professional accomplishments include obtaining second place worldwide with the “Magic Sphere” in 2015, being a finalist in design with “Tray Girax” in 2016, getting the winning banner in her country with “No More Lives Lost” in 2017, creating a company called “Markku’s Design Company” in 2018, carrying out product design projects and workshops in prisons in 2019, participating in the international Kiwie contest, organized in Korea in 2020, inventing “A personal protection garment with joining elements for beauty centers,” the garment to protect from COVID and viruses, and obtaining the silver medal in Kiwie in 2021. Most importantly, she was invited to the Tigullio Design District TDD in 2022, the most glamorous event in Liguria, Italy, to present the most experienced designers, and was chosen as a panel member of the Kultura Project Italy in 2023.
Recently, Sofia became a member of the Women Leaders of the Americas, the Afro-Andean Board of Trustees for Culture and Development in Peru, and Remart, an international network of women artists in Medellin, Colombia. She just joined the Top Level Global Relations Platform as Peru’s ambassador.
Most recently, she won the 2024 Women Changing the World Award and was recognized as a cultural manager in the area of communications by the Andean Parliament. Her groundbreaking story is included in the book Women Living Fearlessly, which will be published in September 2024 in New York City.
Same gender mentors and role models play a critical role in helping women advance in their careers because of their understanding of the challenges and discrimination that women face in the workplace. Markkus Design Company and THE DESIGNER PERU Magazine have grown quickly under Sofia’s leadership, demonstrating her outstanding leadership skills. Here are some of her best career success tips to help the future generation of women succeed in their careers:
Keep innovating.
Pursue short and long-term goals.
Adapt to new technologies.
Focus on customers.
For a business to succeed, it must manage its financial resources prudently. Establish and visualize goals. Take advantage of technological tools. Adopt your own strategies. Promote constant innovation. Build resilience and sustainability for long-term success.
A good leader, as a boss, lives the company’s culture, adheres to standards and rules, and sets an example for employees. A good leader makes employees feel valued.