Design Talks: RUFA at the Romaeuropa Festival 2025

RUFA is among the protagonists of the 2025 edition of the Romaeuropa Festival within the Design Talks showcase, a full day dedicated entirely to graphic design, curated by Stefano Cipolla – RUFA lecturer and Art Director of L’Espresso – with the coordination of David Aprea and Studio Mistaker. The event was held at La Pelanda, Mattatoio in Testaccio: a free event that celebrates visual language in all its forms, between creativity, experimentation and cross-pollination.

For its second edition, RUFA is once again taking part in the THESIS PROJECTS showcase with Visual and Innovation Design graduate Serena Tobaldo, who presented her thesis project PLUG together with Emanuele Cappelli, lecturer and coordinator of the Master’s programme in Visual and Innovation Design. In this context – introduced by Claudia Cottrer and moderated by Martina Tariciotti – four students and an equal number of lecturers from the main design schools in Rome presented a selected thesis representing the creative excellence of their respective institutions.
❯ THESIS PROJECTS: Sunday, 28 September, 11:00 AM–1:00 PM — Mattatoio T1, La Pelanda (Testaccio)

The independent magazine PLUG addresses sexuality and pleasure as dimensions free from preconceptions and boundaries, through provocative conversations and refined editorial language. A work that becomes a tool for progress and cultural reflection, conceived between Rome, Milan, Vicenza and New York under the supervision of Emanuele Cappelli and Lorenzo Iervolino.

“While people engage in sexual activities, for a variety of reasons, one primary motivation is pleasure. Why pleasure? ‘Cause seeking and experiencing pleasure is our nature.

[…] But what does it really mean to feel free in living out one’s sexuality?”

In addition to the thesis presentations, Design Talks opens its spaces to a vibrant community of graphic designers, illustrators, typographers and enthusiasts of the sector.
The public will be able to participate in meetings, talks, visual performances and workshops for all ages, designed to stimulate curiosity, dialogue and active participation. The beating heart of the event will also be a market exhibition entirely dedicated to independent publishing, where visitors can discover and purchase fanzines, posters and projects outside traditional circuits.

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THESIS PROJECTS 11:00 – 13:00 – Mattatoio T1 Presentation of the selected theses from the four Roman design schools, including RUFA with PLUG by Serena Tobaldo.

PANEL and TALK
15:00 – 17:30 – Mattatoio T1
15:00 – Panel with the atelier Tantanka, Enrico Gisana (graphic and motion designer) and Francesca Pignataro (designer and art director).
16:30 – Talk with the studio La Tigre from Milan.
18:00 – Galleria della Vasche

DESIGN SPACES
Motion designer Valerio di Mario will lead an informal discussion between seven studios and professionals of the Roman graphic design scene: Studio Natale, WMB, Francesca Pignataro, Cappelli Design, Mistaker, BLA Studio, Etaoin Studio and Numero Cromatico.

A day in which graphic design becomes a shared experience and a narration of the present, showing how visual design can be a powerful tool of cultural and social expression, capable of connecting people, ideas and stories.