Where Zasa Came From
If you've seen Zasa around our social media or website and wondered where it came from, the answer is simple: it came from a high school in Nueva Palmira, Uruguay, through a student contest, and from a 14-year-old student whose idea stood out among many excellent submissions.
The Workshop
In mid-2025, we participated in Techy por el Día, an initiative by CUTI that brings technology workshops to high schools across Uruguay, especially in communities outside Montevideo.
We visited Dr. Medulio Pérez Fontana High School in Nueva Palmira to deliver a workshop for ninth-grade students (ages 13 to 15) called "Create, Code, and Design: Your Future in Technology."
During the two-hour session, students explored Scratch, learned the basics of graphic design, and talked with us about what it's really like to work in technology. It's something we see every time: watching something they've built actually work often changes the way students think about technology.
The Contest
That same day, we launched an idea we had been discussing internally: the "Design Zarasa's Mascot" contest. As we celebrated our fifth anniversary, instead of hiring an agency, we invited the students to imagine one themselves. The brief was simple: design a digital mascot that represents Zarasa.
We received many creative submissions, and several of them were outstanding. To make the selection as fair as possible, we assembled a judging panel with team members from Marketing, Design, Development, and Human Resources.
On June 1, 2025, the winning design was announced: Zasa, created by Joaquín, a 14-year-old student.
Meet Zasa
Zasa has a friendly personality and a unique style that immediately resonated with us. What made the design special was something difficult to describe: it captured who we are without falling into the typical corporate mascot or generic logo style.
For us, it was the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary — with a character that didn't come from inside the company, but from the creativity of a young student.
From now on, you'll see Zasa appearing across our social media, website, events, and communications.
Why We Participated
Techy por el Día aims to reduce the technology access gap between Montevideo and the rest of the country, and supporting that mission felt like a natural fit for us. This wasn't simply a marketing campaign — we genuinely believe that giving more students from Uruguay's interior the opportunity to explore technology, even for just one afternoon, can make a meaningful difference.
Thank you to Joaquín for designing Zasa, and to the team at Dr. Medulio Pérez Fontana High School for welcoming us.
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Visit zarasa.io →Frequently Asked Questions
What is Techy por el Día?
Techy por el Día is a CUTI initiative that organizes technology workshops in high schools across Uruguay, with a special focus on students outside Montevideo, introducing them to programming, design, and technology careers.
Who designed Zasa?
Zasa was designed by Joaquín, a ninth-grade student at Dr. Medulio Pérez Fontana High School in Nueva Palmira, who won Zarasa's 2025 mascot design contest.
Why did Zarasa organize a contest instead of hiring a designer?
The contest was part of our fifth anniversary celebration. We loved the idea of having our mascot created by a student rather than through a traditional internal or outsourced design process.
Where will Zasa appear?
You'll find Zasa across Zarasa's social media channels, website, events, and communications throughout the year.