CCAD Stories

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.

You dedicated years to your CCAD education, and we consider you a CCAD family member for life. (Congratulations⁠—you’ve earned it!) But being an alum isn’t just something you are, it’s something you do.

Carol Snyder (Fine Arts, 1985) lives and makes art in central Ohio, but her ceramics practice has taken her around the world.

CCAD's Master of Design students collaborate with Cardinal Health to enhance surgical gowns. Exploring fashion trends and smart technologies, they aim to improve comfort and functionality while meeting industry standards. Partnerships like these offer real-world experience and innovative solutions.

Congratulations to Sugandh Agrawal (Industrial Design, 2005), winner of the Best Retail Handbag Award at the 2018 Independent Handbag Designer Awards. The award, presented by Macy’s, recognized a handbag “designed with the Macy’s customer in mind” and included 1,500 entries from around the world.

Tony West, a Disney animator, influenced CCAD artists. His career spanned Disney's golden age, from "The Rescuers Down Under" to "Lilo and Stitch". He fosters talent, embraces change, and sees animation's limitless future in imagination.

Elijah Funk (Fine Arts, 2012) embraces being "weird." At CCAD, he thrived with faculty support. Now, he co-owns Online Ceramics, designing sought-after T-shirts with Alix Ross.

High Bank Distillery Co. opens soon, offering craft cocktails, organic vodka, and custom whiskey. Co-founder Adam Hines credits CCAD for his entrepreneurial success and passion for creativity.

CCAD alumni improve healthcare through medical illustration, virtual reality, user experience, art therapy, and dental restorations.

Eleven years ago, Leslie Harrington (Illustration, 1986) scored one of the most coveted gigs in the world of children’s book and magazine illustration. She was chosen as the new illustrator of Goofus and Gallant, Columbus-based Highlights magazine’s 77-year-old comic strip. 

When you’re in the business of inventing toys, you expose yourself to some brutal critics: kids. Columbus College of Art & Design alum Peter Wachtel (Industrial Design, 1990) can take it, even if he has to live with a couple of them and face others on national television.

Sugandh Agrawal, CCAD alumna, founded Gunas, a luxury vegan handbag label, driven by her CCAD experience and commitment to ethics. She advises: Act on entrepreneurial instincts and never wait for readiness.