Andreya Veintimilla, Design Research Lead, Smart Columbus

We interviewed ID alum Andreya Veintimilla (MDes 2020), Design Research Lead at Smart Columbus in Columbus, Ohio, via email. Andreya discussed her journey from architecture to urban innovation, and her focus today on building inclusive urban systems. 

Andreya has led community design initiatives at Smart Columbus since 2022. Smart Columbus is an innovation lab focused on creating sustainable, equitable, and prosperous communities through technology and design. Previously, she worked as a consultant specializing in human-centered design for workforce transformation, educational services, and community innovation.

What are you doing professionally today?

I am currently working full-time as the Design Research Lead at Smart Columbus in Columbus, Ohio. I started this role in February 2022 and absolutely love it—it’s my dream job. Smart Columbus, an entity of The Columbus Partnership, is the 11-county central Ohio region’s innovation lab.

We address our community’s most pressing problems by advancing what is new and next at the intersection of technology and community good. This is done through human-centered research and design, cross-sector collaboration, and solution delivery. In my role, I lead design initiatives from discovery through implementation phases across an evolving portfolio of community innovation projects.

What’s your background, and how did you decide to come to ID?

My background is in architecture and urbanism. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Miami University of Ohio and a Master of Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before coming to ID, I spent about five years working as a professional architectural designer at design firms in Cincinnati, Chicago, and Iowa.

I have always been fascinated with complex urban systems, cities, and human behavior related to physical environments. In 2018 I was looking for a way to expand my role as a designer beyond architecture. I wanted to focus more on research and understanding human behavior, context, and systems as a way to drive design decisions that could lead to many different possible outcomes/outputs.

As I was researching options to help me pivot my career, I found ID and was instantly drawn to the program’s integrated curriculum across a wide range of design disciplines and focus on systems, both urban and otherwise. There is no other program quite like this in the US, I looked. My decision to attend ID was easy!

What was your path from ID to where you are now? And what has surprised you on this path?

When I graduated from ID in May 2020, it was at the beginning of COVID. My last semester was split in two, with the switch to fully remote classes starting in March. It was a confusing time to graduate. There was suddenly a flurry of new opportunities for design in digital transformation, but also a lot of instability and uncertainty. Thanks to the relationships I made while at ID, I was able to work as an independent contractor for several organizations during the initial 18 months following graduation. Although this wasn’t how I originally imagined my transition out of graduate school, it allowed me to gain experience and exposure to a variety of different projects across different sectors in a short period of time.

As a design consultant for Conic Group, Desklight, and Leapgen—a human resources technology advisory firm acquired by Mercer in March 2023—I had the opportunity to be a part of design projects ranging from digital strategy and transformation, employee experience, learning design, and community design across public, private, institutional, and non-profit sectors.

When the Design Research position at Smart Columbus became available, I felt like it was a perfect fit for my background, experience, and interests. It offered the opportunity to work at an urban systems scale on projects that combined design, technology, complex stakeholder engagement, and community innovation. Although my resume may seem like a series of fits and starts, I think my journey allowed me to gain a variety of experiences and develop the ability to pivot and shift. This has given me the versatility and adaptability that I feel is essential for success in my current role and in today’s design industry.

How would you describe design today? Both at your organization and in the larger world?

Today, design is about listening closely to what people and communities need, and designing solutions around that. Good design means making sure everyone is included and protecting people’s rights and privacy when it comes to technology and data. Ultimately, design today helps build cities and systems that are fair, inclusive, and sustainable, making sure technology truly works for everyone, not just a select few. It’s a shift away from the “move fast and break things” mentality to one where technology is meticulously developed with people’s needs, rights, and well-being at its core, ensuring that digital advancements contribute to a more humane, equitable, and sustainable urban future.

At Smart Columbus, we use human-centered design to make sure the things we build actually work for the people they’re meant to serve. That means inviting community members, nonprofits, agency staff, and funders into the process from the very beginning. Human-centered design helps us build the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. Our work depends on community trust, shared ownership, and systems-level change. We spend the extra time to build real relationships, include voices that are too often left out, and create the kind of buy-in that shortcuts can’t deliver.

What is exciting you now in design, and what do you foresee happening next?

As cities navigate emerging technology, data privacy, and AI, I see a more important role for design than ever before. What if the smartest cities didn’t just connect systems or make services more efficient, but understood how people wanted to live or gave more decision-making ability to more people?

It’s hard to speculate what the future will bring for myself, let alone design. However, I believe the future will be urban and highly technology-enabled, so design needs to establish itself as a key player in that space. For me, I will continue to be responsive to industry changes and emerging opportunities as the future unfolds.

What would you tell emerging designers about how to position themselves for tomorrow?

Be adaptable, versatile, and open-minded. Look for ways to apply your design skills at organizations and in roles that are ‘outside of the box’. Be willing to change the way you practice design—be responsive to different situations, stakeholders, and challenges.

What have been some of your biggest lessons and proudest moments?

My biggest challenge has been building confidence in myself as a design leader, and my proudest moments are when others recognize me as such. It took me a while to trust my skills and instincts, but when I take risks and see positive results it’s the best feeling. Whether it’s advocating for a specific stakeholder engagement approach, designing a workshop, or presenting research findings, when others see the value and results that thoughtful design can bring, it’s incredibly validating and rewarding.

What makes a good designer? If you hire, what do you look for?

A good designer checks his or her ego at the door and creates space to listen to others and be observant. This is essential to being an effective dot connector between the big picture and smaller details.

When we hire, we look for people who demonstrate design/innovation mindsets in addition to core skillsets. These include: a drive to pursue the path of greatest impact, even if it’s the harder way; optimism; a bias for action; authentic relationship-building; and curiosity and intellectual humility.

What’s an image or a moment that comes to mind when you think of ID?

Colorful sticky notes on white walls! I remember walking into the Kaplan Institute for the first time when we moved from the downtown location to the new building on Illinois Tech’s campus and thinking to myself, Wow, I feel like I’m inside of a giant whiteboard!

I think of this as a metaphor for what ID is: providing a structure and a canvas for an endless number of possible design possibilities.

What do you most value about your ID experience and why?

The people I met while at ID and the global network of design professionals ID provided me access to are what I value the most. Two years is a short period of time and it goes by fast, but the relationships and connections I built during that time continue to last.

ID’s reputation and my connections are what provided me access to opportunities after graduation that led me to where I am today. I continue to have regular Zoom meet-ups with several of my former classmates and professors.

We share advice, work through different challenges we’re facing, talk about different projects we’re working on, and catch up on what’s new in our lives. It’s fun, inspiring, and helpful! Especially when being a designer can often feel lonely and isolating when you’re working in an organization that isn’t a design consultancy or agency. I see my ID network as my extended team.

Where do you see design increasingly providing value or taking a larger role?

I think design and technology together can help unlock greater inclusion in decision-making for more people when it comes to urban development.

Good design combined with emerging technology, such as AI, can ensure initiatives are fair and accessible to everyone, especially communities that might otherwise get left out. The kinds of stakeholder engagement that human-centered design promotes can make technology more transparent, helping residents understand exactly how their data is being used, which builds trust and accountability. By bringing people into the design process through co-creation and participation, cities can develop solutions that genuinely reflect local needs, cultures, and values. Design makes sure technology serves people first and can make cities better places for everyone to live.

Learn more about ID’s Master of Design (MDes) program.