SMED - Scrivere a Mano nell'Era Digitale

What SMED - Scrivere a Mano nell'Era Digitale does

SMED - Scrivere a Mano nell'Era Digitale (Writing by Hand in the Digital Era) is an Italian nonprofit educational association (Associazione di Promozione Sociale) founded on January 31, 2015 and headquartered in Verona, Italy. The association's stated mission is to promote the knowledge and practice of handwriting through the Scrittura Corsiva educational project, which centers on the Italica font designed by Monica Dengo in 2012 and assigned to the association in 2015. The font is a handwriting typeface based on 16th-century Italian humanistic cursive and is offered in Italica Basic (non-connected) and Italica Next (connected cursive) versions. The underlying 'technology' is therefore pedagogical and typographic rather than software-driven: a proprietary teaching method, a proprietary font, and a curated body of downloadable and printable materials.

The association's product portfolio includes the Italica font itself (available to members for private or classroom use), the 'Scriviamo in Italica' workbook series covering uppercase, lowercase, and cursive instruction, alphabet and number charts, tracing and copying exercises, posters, and a member-facing Google Drive document library (SMED Drive, launched 2025). Teacher training is delivered through a network of 13+ instructor associates and a core channel partnership with Canalescuola, a training agency accredited by MIUR (the Italian Ministry of Education); this structure makes SMED's 16-hour teacher courses payable via the Carta del Docente professional-development voucher system and eligible for MIUR recognition.

Revenue mechanics are correspondingly modest and nonprofit-structured: annual individual membership fees starting at €20, course fees (with a €15 member discount) routed through Carta del docente, and sales of printed workbooks and educational publications. SMED's primary customer segment is Italian primary school teachers and educators, with secondary audiences including parents, children, and adult calligraphy students. Activities are distributed across Italy via in-person workshops in cities including Florence, Milan, Venice, Bologna, Verona, Parma, and Rome, participation in cultural and educational festivals, and a teacher referral network; the association reports having reached thousands of children, parents, and teachers since 2015.

Name

SMED - Scrivere a Mano nell'Era Digitale

Legal name

SMED Scrivere a Mano nell'Era Digitale APS

Website

https://smed2015.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SMED is a Verona-based Italian nonprofit educational association promoting handwriting knowledge through the Italica font and Scrittura Corsiva method, serving primarily Italian primary school teachers via MIUR-accredited courses, workbook sales, and €20+ annual membership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Handwriting Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Handwriting & Fine-Motor Writing (Print/Cursive) (EDAMAJAE)

Keywords

• Handwriting education
• Cursive writing training
• Teacher professional development
• Educational materials publishing
• Nonprofit educational association

Headquarters

HQ city

Verona

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership fees starting from €20, providing access to downloadable digital materials, the Italica font for private or classroom use, and reduced prices on courses.
2. Teacher training courses: Professional development courses for teachers and educators, priced and payable through the Italian 'Carta del Docente' system. Members receive a €15 discount.
3. Educational materials and publications: Sale of printed materials including exercise books ('quaderni SMED') from the 'Scriviamo in Italica' series and other educational publications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SMED is an Italian nonprofit association (APS) that promotes handwriting knowledge and practice through the Scrittura Corsiva educational project. It offers teacher training courses (online and in-person), workshops for children and adults, and educational materials including the proprietary Italica font based on 16th-century Italian humanistic cursive, workbooks (Scriviamo in Italica series), alphabet charts, and downloadable digital resources accessible through membership.

Product overview

SMED - Scrivere a Mano nell'Era Digitale is an educational association that offers a unified portfolio centered on handwriting education. The core offering includes the Italica font (designed for teaching cursive writing) and a series of workbooks ('Scriviamo in Italica' series covering Il maiuscolo, Il minuscolo, Il corsivo). Additional products include alphabet charts, number writing tables, and various printable exercises and posters available to members. The association also provides Google Drive-based document sharing for members. All products support the Scrittura Corsiva teaching method developed by Monica Dengo.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Italica: A font inspired by Italian Renaissance writing tradition, designed by Monica Dengo, based on humanistic cursive forms for teaching handwriting in schools.
• Scrittura Corsiva
• Scriviamo in Italica

Products and services

• Italica Font A handwriting font inspired by 16th-century Italian Renaissance humanistic cursive, designed by Monica Dengo for teaching cursive writing. Available in Italica Basic (non-connected letters) and Italica Next (connected cursive) versions. Available to SMED members for private or classroom use.
• Scriviamo in Italica Workbooks (Quaderni SMED) A series of printed workbooks (Il maiuscolo, Il minuscolo, Il corsivo) that develop guidelines from the Scrittura Corsiva project and help students rediscover handwriting practice.
• Il corsivo naturale Digital version of the handwriting manual created by Monica Dengo for teaching cursive writing to children.
• SMED Teacher Training Course (Scrivere a Mano nell'Era Digitale) Professional development training course for teachers and educators on teaching handwriting using the Scrittura Corsiva method. Recognized by Italy's Ministry of Education (MIUR) for 16 hours of training. Course fee is payable through the 'Carta del Docente' system with €15 reduction for association members.
• SMED Annual Membership Annual membership with a €20 minimum fee, providing access to downloadable digital materials, the Italica font for private or classroom use, and reduced prices on courses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Courses recognized by MIUR for teacher professional development credits (16 hours of training)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CanalescuolacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2015Canalescuola is an accredited training agency recognized by MIUR (Italian Ministry of Education) that organizes and manages SMED's professional development courses for teachers. Courses are payable through the 'Carta del Docente' system.
• Tipoteca Italiana FondazionecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTipoteca, the museum of printing and typography in Cornuda (Treviso), partners with SMED for annual Open Day events featuring handwriting workshops. Collaboration began in 2016.
• Istituto de' BardiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric Florentine institution that provides venue for SMED teacher training courses in its headquarters at Palazzo Capponi, via dei Michelozzi.
• FabrianominorGTM or Marketing PartnerHistoric Italian paper brand that collaborates with SMED on video workshops and distributes SMED educational materials through Fabriano Boutique stores in Milan, Verona, Venice, Florence, and Rome.
• ArtsystemminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural heritage company that organized SMED's participation in activities alongside the 'Mindful Hands' exhibition at Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice (2016-2017).
• BarchettaBluminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenice-based association that organizes cultural events for children and families, partnering with SMED for handwriting workshops including lagoon cruises.
• Fondazione GolinelliminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBologna-based foundation that organized SMED's participation in events during the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2017, including teacher training and public conferences.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Peterson Directed Handwriting: US handwriting curriculum provider focused on K-5 cursive and print instruction with a movement-based pedagogy. Shares the focused, method-centric approach to handwriting instruction that distinguishes SMED from broader literacy publishers.
• Zaner-Bloser: Major US handwriting and literacy instructional materials publisher serving K-8 classrooms. Comparable to SMED in the sense of providing structured handwriting curricula and teacher resources, but at a substantially larger scale and with broader literacy coverage.
• Handwriting Without Tears: US-based K-5 handwriting instruction company offering a structured, multi-sensory handwriting curriculum. Directly comparable to SMED as a method-driven handwriting education provider, though operating at much larger commercial scale and primarily within the US school system.
• Associazione Calligrafica Italiana: Italian calligraphy association that promotes calligraphy education and practice in Italy. Closest Italian national counterpart to SMED, with the key difference that it focuses on calligraphy as an art form rather than school-based handwriting instruction.
• Scuola Italiana di Calligrafia: Italian calligraphy school offering courses and workshops in traditional and contemporary lettering. Comparable to SMED in delivering handwriting/calligraphy instruction in Italy, though oriented more toward adult learners and artistic practice than primary school pedagogy.
• National Handwriting Association (UK): UK-based charity that promotes good handwriting practice and supports teachers and parents. Most structurally similar to SMED as a mission-driven, teacher-and-school-focused handwriting organization operating in a single national market.

Others

• Fabriano (Carta): Historic Italian paper brand that distributes SMED's educational materials through Fabriano Boutique stores. Not a competitor but an important distribution and co-branding partner adjacent to the handwriting education market.
• Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione: Italian museum and foundation dedicated to printing and typography, with whom SMED runs annual Open Day handwriting workshops. Not a peer but a strategic partner that brings SMED into contact with the broader typography and letterform community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/smed2015
• Instagraminstagram.com/smedassociazione
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smed-scrivere-a-mano-nell-era-digitale

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SMED - Scrivere a Mano nell'Era Digitale