Check Out Cristina Pandol’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristina Pandol.

Hi Cristina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a foreign-born but mostly domestically raised, light-skinned Latina with dual citizenship and Croatian lineage. I was born in Santiago, Chile to a Chilean mother and Croatian American father. My father is a table grape farmer, so we followed the agricultural season when I was very young. We lived four months in Chile and eight months in California every year. I have family in both countries and speak Spanish like my mother and English like my father. However, while the cultures are more similar than they are different, human nature is quick to point out differences and that creates a sense of never really fitting in anywhere. I was an outsider everywhere — too Latina/foreign to be American and too Gringa to be Chilean. Instead of feeling defeated by this, is created an attitude within me to strive to exist outside the box since the box and be original in my thinking and decision-making. While most of my peer group aspired for law or medical school, I took a more unconventional path, which led to a career as a creative.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Life isn’t generally smooth because the road isn’t generally smooth, however I don’t view the bumps and obstacles as struggles. They’re valuable experiences for learning that can usually be applied in later situations that have similarly shaped bumps or obstacles.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an innovative problem solver that have a very unromantic view of creativity. For me, creativity is the simplest solution to a problem while taking into account the constants and variables. It is very mathematical for me, which fundamentally conflicts with the obtuse thinking that you are either left brain or right brain in your thinking. Good design is good because it organizes chaos visually, a good product is good because it solves a frustration efficiently and quickly, a good campaign is good because it makes information simple and easy to understand, etc.

Depending on where I am working or what I am working on, I apply this mathematical creative philosophy to problems to find solutions. I am very good a managing and leading teams and giving directions that allow others to join in this style of thinking.

What does success mean to you?
Success varies project per project. The goal should always be clear and measurable from the beginning, but it is possible to have multiple goals, one of which should always be learning/growth. A project can be an overall failure because KPIs weren’t hit, however if there were a lot of learnings that came from it, an element of the project was successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cristinapandol.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cristinapandol/