CCAD Stories: Andrea Obradors Puerto

Andrea Obradors Puerto (Master of Design, 2020) has a background in industrial design and product engineering and had been working for a furniture lighting company in her home country of Spain when she enrolled in a design management course. There, she fell in love with strategic design. One of the teachers was Mercè Graell, who was hired as chair to launch the Master of Design in Integrative Design at CCAD, which will graduate its first class in May 2019.

“For me, design is a tool to change the world and our society,” says Obradors Puerto, who started in the Master of Design program in August 2018. “And through this design management program, I learned there’s a specific area—integrative design—that is more focused on how we can use this tool as designers.”

How did you end up at CCAD?

After I finished with the design management program in Spain, I left my job and was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. I knew the United States would be a good place for me to become the professional I wanted to be, so I started researching master’s programs. I called Mercè. The Master of Design program at CCAD balances what I was looking for: a mix of design in society and design in business.

What appeals to you about the integrative design program at CCAD?

Every semester we work with real clients on design projects, so, in a way, we are truly a consultancy within a college. Working with real-life clients means, therefore, real problems.

There is a lot of diversity within the program as well. I’m from the design field, but others have backgrounds in graphic design, fashion design, the arts, history, and psychology. Our conversations during the program are interesting because of that.

How has the transition been moving from Spain to the States?

I’d visited the United States, but it’s different living here versus spending just a week here. This is my first time living abroad. The first month was difficult because everything was new—new language, new culture. But now, I can see myself staying here for a while. I would like to grow here as a professional, working in strategic design or transitional design, and, maybe, 10 to 15 years from now, move back to Barcelona to try to transmit all the knowledge I’ve learned here.

Where do you see yourself next?

My next role will be in the enterprise or business world and I’m sure it’s going to be related to the social field in terms of how human behavior interacts with design. I think it’s entirely possible my future job doesn’t exist right now, but that I’m going to discover it.