Graphic Design graduate wins gold at the Estonian Marketing Awards

After being tasked with just 48 hours to create a marketing campaign that explores the harmful effects of social media on young people, Sander Randoja and his team came away winning gold.  

The Estonian Marketing Awards is the biggest creative festival in Estonia, and this year their task reflected the need to take seriously the effects of social media. As many as 60 teams entered the competition, which was whittled down to six finalists before Sander took home the winning Golden Egg. From research and storytelling to creative execution, the project was a deep dive into how we can engage and empower the younger generation to use social media more mindfully. 

We caught up with Sander to learn more about what he has been up to since graduating in 2023, and how his time studying Falmouth’s Graphic Design BA(Hons) course helped to set him up for an impressive career in the creative field.  

You won gold at the Estonian Marketing Awards 2025 in the Young Talent category – congratulations! Can you tell us more about the project and what you did?  

The project aimed to raise awareness of the negative effects of social media on mental wellbeing; an issue which, despite its severity, is not highlighted in the same way as smoking, drinking or gambling. To address this, we used the metaphor of social media as a substance that requires mindful consumption, portraying it visually like alcohol, complete with a mandatory-style disclaimer: “Attention! This is social media. Excessive use may affect your mental wellbeing.” It is a familiar format that’s used for other regulated products, helping to emphasize the importance of conscious use. 

What else have you been up to since graduating?  

After graduating, I returned home to Estonia and worked as a graphic designer at a creative agency, gaining valuable industry experience. I had the opportunity to work on exciting projects, including developing the social media visual identity guidelines for the airline airBaltic and contributing to marketing campaigns for Visit Estonia and Work in Estonia. 

While I enjoyed the work, I soon realised how much I missed being in an educational environment, and I naturally found my way back. I’m currently studying Interaction Design at Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden, where I’m exploring the aesthetics and human-centred design of interfaces, emerging technologies, and human-AI interactions. 

How did you find your time studying a Graphic Design BA at Falmouth, and how did it help set you up for your career? 

The three years I had at Falmouth turned out to be some of the most formative of my life. The course provided a solid foundation in core principles such as layout, typography, and colour psychology, while also giving us the freedom to explore and shape our own creative direction by our third year. I was fortunate to have tutors who genuinely believed in me and were invested in my development. I’m especially thankful to Steve House, who planted the early seeds of self-belief, encouraging me to embrace having bold and sometimes unconventional ideas, and to push them further than I thought possible. That support had a lasting impact on my confidence and creative thinking. By the end of the course, I left with not just strong technical fundamentals, but with a deep appreciation for research-led and concept-driven design.