With a background that spans spatial design, branding, colour, graphic design and marketing, WdKA alumna Sabina Dzananovic has built a career defined by curiosity, adaptability and a love of making. Today she works in Sweden as Marketing Manager at Flox, while also freelancing across interior design, visual identity, concept development and photography. “I’ve always worked multidisciplinary,” she says. “And what I learned at WdKA is to stay curious - open to many practices and fields. And having a broad set of skills is extremely valuable in today’s creative industry.”
Choosing Spatial Design
Her creative path began early. Born in Bosnia and raised in the Netherlands from age six, she was always making things: drawing, building, crafting with her hands. “My mom always said I should be an architect,” she laughs. She visited an architecture open day but quickly realised it wasn’t the right fit: “Not creative enough for me.” By chance, the WdKA open day was happening the same afternoon. “It suited me much better.”
At eighteen, freshly graduated from HAVO, she moved from Friesland to Rotterdam. “It was a big step, but really exciting,” she says. “I didn’t know what to expect. But I got in, I had an amazing class, and that helped me ground myself right from the start.”
A Broad Education
The Spatial Design major offered her both direction and freedom. “In the first year you’re in your own domain, but the goal is also to explore other practices: photography, drawing, different workshops. I tried everything. It was a lot of fun.”
She built skills in concept development, research, storytelling, CAD programmes, analogue crafts, architecture, colour theory and visual communication. Just as importantly, the programme shaped her personally: “It was my first time living on my own, and as a designer everything you do is personal. You’re always being evaluated. I became more open, dared to show more of myself, learned to receive feedback and grow from it. And I started to understand what motivates me creatively.”
Graduation: Exploring a Swedish Design Identity
Toward the end of her studies she felt herself drawn increasingly toward interior design. Creating a graduation project felt overwhelming at first. “There was a lot of pressure, and I found it hard to come up with an idea.” Her personal life became the starting point: her Swedish boyfriend and his family’s home.
“I wanted to do research into that style, showcase my own style in relation to Swedish design and tradition.” She created a 2-by-2 meter installation with a maquette of the house and garden,, surrounded by drawings, floor plans, and a handcrafted booklet containing her photography, inspirations and interviews with her partner’s parents. “I designed social and intimate spaces, thought about sunlight, handcraft, tradition. The concept wasn’t realised since it was too big, but they really loved it, especially the idea of the fireplace as the heart of the home.”
