Danielle Begnaud
Founder, Principal Designer + Researcher
Danielle is the founder of benyo studio, where her work spans children’s product design, collaborative design practices, as well as writing and illustrating children’s books; while focusing on sparking imagination, creativity, and joyful resilience.
Danielle holds a Master’s in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. Grounded in her anthropological background, she places the human experience at the center of her design and research practice. As a product designer with experience researching and working with young people, Danielle is passionate about empowering children to see themselves as designers and changemakers.
Danielle has designed and facilitated collaborative design workshops, working together with children to design toys, games, furniture, and experiences. From long-term collaborations to remote co-design experiments, sharing in the creative process and inspiring children to create fuels her work.
Danielle is a Visiting Instructor at Pratt Institute, teaching toy design, design studios, and thesis seminar classes.
Speaking
Co-Designing the Classroom: Design research with student partners to improve belonging and engagement
Presenter - Association for Learning Environments Northeast Regional Conference 2025
Designing and Prototyping
Guest lecturer - College of Information Studies, The University of Maryland College Park 2023
Brain Bridges: Co-Designing Toys with Children
Presenter - ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference 2020
Brain Bridges: Co-Designing Toys with Children
Guest Lecturer - Human-Computer Interaction Research Lab, University of Lisbon 2020
Hurrah! Urban Musical Instrument
Presenter - World Bank Headquarters 2019
Publications
Begnaud, D. (2020). "It's just too much": Exploring Children's Views of Boredom and Strategies to Manage Feelings of Boredom. IDC '20: Proceedings of the Interaction Design and Children Conference. https://doi.org/10.1145/3392063.3394414
Design Indaba. (2023, October 20). Danielle Begnaud looks at how to involve children in the process of designing toys. Design Indaba. https://www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/danielle-begnaud-looks-how-involve-children-process-designing-toys
Jaradat, M. (2023, June 3). Is your child ‘boredom prone’? What to know now that summer vacation is here. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2023/6/3/23733059/boredom-prone-children-summer-vacation-im-bored/
Johnson, D. (2022, December 5). Inventor Danielle Begnaud on her path to market – and how she uses dialogue as a barometer. Mojo Nation. https://www.mojo-nation.com/inventor-danielle-begnaud-on-her-path-to-market-and-how-she-uses-dialogue-as-a-barometer/
Exhibitions + Engagements
Co-Designing the Classroom
Curator + Exhibitor - New York City Design Festival 2025
NYCxDesign x Souvenir
Exhibitor - New York City Design Festival 2024
Student Merit Award
Juror - Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) 2022
Brain Bridges: Co-Designing Toys with Children
Exhibitor - Design Indaba + Dutch Design Week, Antenna Show 2020
Hurrah! Urban Musical Instrument Installation
Exhibitor - New York City Design Festival 2019
Awards
Independent Project Grant 2024
Recipient - New York State Council on the Arts & The Architectural League of New York
Faculty Research Fellowship 2024
Recipient - Pratt Institute’s Center for Art, Design, and Community Engagement K-12
Start-Up Power Award 2020
Recipient - Pratt Research Open House
Rowena Reed Kostellow Award 2019
Finalist - Rowena Reed Kostellow Endowed Scholarship Fund
Margot Kleinman, AIA
Co-Design Partner
Margot, of Vagus Workshop, is an architect, educator, and researcher based in New York City. She believes in using her training to improve the built environment by engaging with and listening to the people who use and are impacted by the spaces she designs. She is experienced in working with youth, facilitating workshops, and is motivated to support the experience of young people through design and mentorship. Her professional experience spans a wide range of project scales and design phases, including urban planning, airports, K12 and higher education projects.