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2026-03-04
Celebrating Female Designers
Design Portrait: Sofie Refer, Designer and Co-Founder of Nuura
Created by Sissel Høystad
Growing up in a family of architects and artists, Sofie Refer was surrounded by creativity from an early age. It felt only natural for her to follow her own path into design. While studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, she created her first lighting design and discovered how light goes beyond function and aesthetics. She realized that the way we light a space can deeply affect our wellbeing and health. Today, as Creative Director and co-founder of Nuura, Refer continues to explore this connection, crafting designs that illuminate rooms while enriching the lives of the people who inhabit them.
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Design Expression
Drawing inspiration from nature – its joy, abundance, and generosity. Sofie Refer is fascinated by how variation and repetition in nature create beauty, a principle that shines through in her designs. At the same time, she strives for a simple yet sensuous expression. “I strive to create lighting designs that bring lasting value by uniting refined aesthetics with high-quality light sources that enhance both atmosphere and wellbeing.”
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Creative Process
Sofie Refer approaches every creative process with a strong and sincere intention, a deep conviction to create something meaningful and valuable. She believes the key to meaningful design is not to fixate on the result, but to remain open to the process.“Surrender to the process rather than fixate on the result. The most meaningful outcomes emerge when you allow yourself to be flexible, to explore, and to embrace uncertainty.”Staying true to the original intention is essential, yet the process must also be investigative, allowing work to evolve in unexpected ways. The outcome is design that is functional, beautiful, and shaped equally by intention and exploration.
Shaping the Future of Design
In a world that often feels fragmented, Sofie Refer sees a unique opportunity to shape a more feminine future in design, one defined not just by style, but by values. For her, true empowerment goes beyond holding positions of power; it is about changing the culture so that empathy and collaboration are recognized as strengths. Rooted in care, patience, sensitivity, intuition, and responsibility, Refer's approach honors integrity and shows deep respect for both nature and the people around her, resulting in design that reflects these principles.
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For the Next Generation of Women in Design
In the design business, which is both deeply personal and highly collaborative, it becomes a source of strength to connect with a deeper sense of purpose. It gives you courage, helps you tackle the challenges of the work itself, and also allows you to ask for support and guidance.
Refer says she truly believes that the ability to ask for help, to build alliances, and to lean on a community is one of the most important qualities if you want to succeed in the design business. Her advice to young women starting out in design, or dreaming of a future in it, is: “Take the time to find what is truly meaningful to you. Turn inward and ask yourself: What is my why? Why is this important to me? What do I long for? What do I want to contribute?”.
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