
André Santos
Design Consultant
Area of specialization
Strategy
Systems Thinking
Design Research
Facilitation
Coaching
Planet Centric Design
Industrial Design
Contexts of Work
Europe
Asia
Themes
Disaster Management
Environmental Conservation
Off-grid energy
Healthcare
Peace building
Social Innovation
Roles
Design Consultant
Service Designer
Design Strategist
Design Researcher
Facilitator
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
― Buckminster Fuller
I am a Portuguese soul wandering in the snowfields (and green nature) of Helsinki, Finland. Currently, I am particularly interested in holistic and multidisciplinary approaches with a focus on analytic and systemic thinking. My passion lies on strategic design and sustainable impact. As a hybrid designer, I tackle complex challenges by addressing people as part of an ecosystem rather than at the centre of everything. I believe that systemic and interdisciplinary thinking contribute to the development of outcomes that bring sustainable value to people, organisations, and nature.
My 9 year-professional experience has taken me to live and work in multiple countries, including Portugal, Denmark, China, Norway, and now Finland. The majority of my work experience has been as a designer and coach in a diversity of complex projects from healthcare to off-grid solutions, disaster management, and sustainable development. As a coach, I craft creative ways to support interdisciplinary multicultural student teams, helping them to turn their projects into game-changing innovations. These roles have helped me to understand the value of communication and cooperation skills, which are fundamental when working with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.
I joined Sonder to collaborate with an exceptional group of brilliant individuals, working on a range of projects that make a positive difference and have a real impact in the world. I firmly believe that Sonder is where I can best utilise my potential. As the philosopher Ervin Laszlo said, we need to “live in a world better designed” and that is the “biggest challenge”. And I think by joining Sonder I am a step closer to it.