Francisco Mireles, NEIA’s Designer-in-Residence, brings a wealth of experience to the Innovation Studio, shaping a dynamic, hands-on curriculum that challenges students to think beyond traditional classroom settings. With a background spanning industrial design, service design, software engineering, and electrical engineering, Francisco fosters an environment where students engage in real-world projects that prioritize human-centered design and innovation.
The Innovation Studio at NEIA is more than just a class—it functions as a design studio where students work on projects with real clients and stakeholders. Francisco’s role is not to dictate solutions but to facilitate learning by providing students with the resources, guidance, and industry connections they need to bring their ideas to life. “Instead of just being a classroom setting, it becomes something more like a design studio,” Francisco explains. “We always do our best to finish with a project that makes the classroom feel like a studio because it is not direct instruction.”
One of the standout projects this year was a toy design initiative in collaboration with Forever Young, a design store in Queens, New York. The store owner, Lisa G., challenged students to develop innovative physical toys that could keep children engaged beyond the age of six, an age where many transition to digital entertainment. To ensure their designs were informed by real user needs, NEIA students visited an elementary school, interacting with 8- to 10-year-olds to observe their behaviors and preferences firsthand.
This deep engagement with the target audience led to a variety of inventive toy concepts. Among them was the “Fall Apart Cart,” a modular system that allows children to build their own miniature cars using a track they can customize. The pieces, connected by embedded magnets, were designed with careful attention to usability, including a color-coded system to help children assemble them with ease. The team behind the Fall Apart Cart embraced an iterative design process, testing and refining their prototype with young users multiple times. “That’s why it’s so important to meet with the users so frequently,” Francisco emphasizes. “Students, by the end, were really sick of going there, but it was really helpful for them.”
Another innovative creation was “Laysa Block,” an open-ended game that simulates a laser security system using tensioned string rather than actual lasers. The system includes two components—one that supplies the string and another that secures it in place—allowing children to create obstacle courses, set up security traps for their rooms, or design mini escape-room challenges. The tagline, “Set the trap, trigger the fun,” encapsulates the interactive and imaginative nature of the toy. This project exemplified the importance of open-ended play, an insight students gleaned from their research into child development. By prioritizing user engagement and creative problem-solving, the students created a toy that encourages exploration and adaptability.
The toy project was not just about creating fun products; it was an exercise in iterative design, resilience, and adaptability. One team initially planned a deck of cards designed for travel entertainment but quickly pivoted to developing a non-slip table surface for playing cards after recognizing a greater need for such a product. This experience reinforced a critical lesson in innovation—being open to change and responding to real-world feedback is essential for success.
Beyond toy design, Francisco has also guided students in reimagining spaces through the Marlboro Library Project. Tasked with developing a proposal for an underutilized area in a local library, students explored how to transform the space into a functional makerspace. They conducted interviews with library patrons and staff, gathering insights into what community members wanted in a creative workspace. Their proposals ranged from knitting and crochet stations to high-tech 3D printing and laser-cutting areas. Students then presented their designs, complete with renderings and virtual reality walk-throughs, to library stakeholders, demonstrating the depth of their research and creative thinking.
The Marlboro Library Project underscored a key tenet of Innovation Studio—design is not confined to physical products. Innovation can take many forms, from rethinking physical spaces to developing software or even video games. This philosophy is evident in the Studio’s evolving curriculum, which recently expanded to include a course on video game development. “We are training them in being fluent in the language of coding, in the language of graphic making,” Francisco says. “But at the end, the main goal of the course is going to be to create a video game that raises awareness about a social impact.”
The Innovation Studio itself operates as a living, evolving entity. Recognizing that different students gravitate toward different types of projects, Francisco and his team have transitioned to an elective-based system. This approach allows students to choose projects aligned with their interests, whether in product design, spatial innovation, or digital experiences. By placing students in the driver’s seat of their education, NEIA cultivates a culture of creativity, adaptability, and purposeful design.
Francisco Mireles’ work at NEIA embodies the school’s mission to foster innovation through hands-on learning. By guiding students through complex, real-world challenges, he equips them with the skills and mindset needed to thrive as problem-solvers and designers of the future. Whether crafting toys, redesigning spaces, or developing digital experiences, NEIA students leave the Innovation Studio with a deeper understanding of how to create meaningful, user-centered solutions that extend far beyond the classroom.
