New Faculty Q&A: Danielle Begnaud
Assistant Professor of Practice Danielle Begnaud is a multidisciplinary designer whose work spans toys, games and interactive objects, centering on collaborative design, play and embodied learning. Through product design and participatory design research, she partners with young people to explore how embodied, playful design experiences can cultivate creativity, agency and joyful resilience. She holds a master’s in industrial design from Pratt Institute and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Tell us about the classes you’ll be teaching this year.
This fall I am teaching Intro to 3D Design, where we’ll explore how the form of three-dimensional objects communicates emotion, behavioral cues, as well as evidence of making and manufacturing methods. I am also teaching Intro to Prototyping, where students learn how to bring their ideas to life through three-dimensional making. We explore material qualities, fabrication tools, and construction methods. I’ll also be teaching Toy Design in the spring.
What attracted you to the Department of Design and The University of Texas at Austin?
I was drawn to the way the department layers 2D and 3D design into the curriculum and learning resources. I think this interdisciplinary approach gives UT design students a valuable lens to see the world through. I’m also a UT Austin alumna and couldn’t wait to return to my alma mater in a new role!
How did your professional pathway lead to your current research focus?
My creative and professional practices have always centered around toy design. It’s a peculiar industry where rooms of adults make a lot of decisions that ultimately result in another adult handing a play object to a child, usually without asking or involving them until the final handoff. The designed environment of childhood is critical to their development, yet children rarely have a say in it. My time in the toy industry led me to start asking how toys would change if children were considered partners in the design process, and this question has led me to projects across the country designing toys, furniture, classrooms, playgrounds, and schools in partnership with the young people who use them.
What’s something that students and colleagues should know about you?
I spent the last 9 years researching, designing, and teaching in New York City. Most recently, I taught in the Industrial Design Department at Pratt Institute and was a Senior Toy Designer for Bark Box, a subscription box for dogs. I also invented something called the Gratitude Tree!
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not teaching or working in the studio?
I’m very excited to be back in my home state and to spend more of my free time with my family and friends here! I also love to be outside, especially in or on water.