We are an
independent studio.
We are Watermelon.
Watermelon was born in New York in 2003 as the portfolio of Carlo De Agostini, a snowboard designer and former big air and halfpipe athlete.
From static graphics on moving objects to motion graphics on a static one: the television screen.
In 2012, after years between the United States, Brazil, China, and England, Carlo returned to Italy. Barbara Bongetta joined Watermelon, bringing experience in international events, luxury, and the arts, and opening a new chapter for the studio.
The team grew, earning over 50 international awards and evolving into an independent studio built around people united by passion, ambition, and a commitment to craft.
How we work matters as much as what we create, a commitment recognised in 2024 with our B Corp Certification. We believe the best ideas emerge at the intersection of talent, responsibility, and genuine relationships. And yes, sometimes over a plate of pizzoccheri and a bottle of Nebbiolo.
Impact.
Part of our work happens outside the frame: the people we work with, the place we live in, the energy we use, what we keep learning. The result depends on the small details, and we run the studio with the same logic, one day at a time.
Our work is made by people working with other people. We believe in respectful working conditions, in an inclusive environment and in the professional growth of those who work with us. We put talent, collaboration and work-life balance at the centre, because the quality of our projects also comes from the quality of our relationships. 60% of Watermelon is owned by a woman, who serves as director and manages its financial and human resources. Ensuring a comfortable and calm working environment is essential to us: we invest in people's everyday wellbeing and promote an active lifestyle through a flexible organisation that supports sport and sustainable mobility. Alongside this, we recognise the value of concrete support: we adhere to the welfare measures in place and commit to strengthening them over time, convinced that wellbeing also comes from access to tools that improve quality of life, inside and outside the studio.
We are rooted in Valtellina by a conscious choice, consistent with the way we work: working from here means developing projects with international scope even outside traditional centres, because a better quality of life contributes directly to the quality of the work. We invest in the context that hosts us through relationships, collaborations and initiatives consistent with our values. A commitment we have always carried forward personally and that today we continue as a company too, in an open territory, able to offer real opportunities both to those who choose to stay and to those who decide to come from elsewhere.
We believe sustainability also comes from everyday choices and from the way we design our working spaces. That is why we constantly invest in reducing the energy impact of the studio, acting both on energy production and management and on the building's efficiency. Over time we have developed an approach oriented towards energy autonomy, the use of certified renewable sources and the optimisation of consumption, combining these measures with structural solutions to improve comfort and reduce waste. Care for the environment is also reflected in the studio's daily activities: we reduce paper use by favouring digital processes, we encourage reuse practices and we adopt simple but concrete solutions to limit waste and promote more conscious habits. For us, sustainability means integrating responsibility, efficiency and long-term vision into the way we work every day.
We believe that growing as a studio means first of all growing as people. That is why we invest in continuous training, making courses and specialisation paths available even during working hours. We use professional platforms specific to our sector as well as more cross-disciplinary tools, offering content useful not only for work but also for personal growth. Alongside these resources, we encourage participation in courses of various kinds, from foreign languages to artificial intelligence, from social media to other technical and organisational skills, including through the training calendars offered by local associations.
Yoga per la Ricerca.
Every October, during breast cancer awareness month, we turn a group yoga practice into a fundraiser for Fondazione Umberto Veronesi: one hour open to everyone, in a gym in Morbegno or live online, in support of research into women's cancers. Since 2023 it has been the moment when the whole valley comes together, and every year there are more of us.
