The global scale! We are designing for people from over 70 countries and personally, I find it extremely challenging to design for a country that I’ve never visited.

What’s the biggest challenge about working in design at Cookpad? It’s a place where you can carve out a space for yourself, depending on your interests and inclinations. Being a fairly new team means there’s lots of opportunity to shape what design means at Cookpad. It’s really exciting! Everyone that joins Cookpad does so because they relate to the mission and are interested in food, so there’s a lot of passion and everyone is very eager. “Everyone that joins Cookpad does so because they relate to the mission and are interested in food, so there’s a lot of passion and everyone is very eager.” What’s it like to work in design at Cookpad? What was originally a three month contract has since become a permanent role. We had a call on the Friday afternoon, a second call that same evening and by the following Monday, I had joined the team. She immediately introduced me to Tomo Yasuda, Cookpad’s Managing Director. I told my mentor and friend, Simona Maschi, Co-Founder of the CIID, that I wanted a role with a business that was working on sustainability, had global reach, a strong mission and good people. How did you discover Cookpad and what made you want to join?Īfter six and half years at the New York Times, two of them as Design Director, I decided it was time to leave and embark on my freelance career. I know it sounds lofty, or abstract, but it is true. My alma mater is the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID), where I’m now a visiting faculty member.įor me, design was a great way to group together all of my different interests and fulfil my desire to shape the future through the use of technology and media.

I was born in Italy and have a background in engineering, media studies and design. What’s your background and how did you get into design?

In her kitchen in Italy, Elena cooks up one of her signature dishes, Tuscan ragu, inspired by her grandma.

Cookpad nytimes