Daniel Quintero is a designer and an innovator. Before moving to Australia, Daniel started and ran several small family businesses in the textile industry and vocational education industry in Colombia. These ventures gave Daniel practical and invaluable experience in implementing different models for business and innovation. When Daniel began working at ThinkPlace, he realised designing for innovation was not only for commercial products; he discovered his passion for combining entrepreneurship with design thinking methodologies for social impact.
As Studio Operations Manager, Daniel applies this passion to curating a physical and cultural environment that stimulates innovation and maximises productivity for the ThinkPlace team and guests to the space. He is often prototyping new ways to optimise the space and is especially interested in how culture is maintained during difficult times, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is able to quickly learn new platforms and has experience in facilitating bilingual English/Spanish co-design workshops.
Currently, Daniel is completing a Master’s of Creative Industries at Melbourne Polytechnic, using human centred design and design thinking methods to research the consequences of cultural appropriation as experienced by an indigenous Colombian community. Daniel hopes his research will result in positive social impact for such communities.
Daniel has completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design from UCP-University in Colombia, and has post-graduate qualifications in Entrepreneurship and Management from Libre University, Colombia.