Neal Boyer

This is part of a series on the unique and circuitous career journeys of the IDEO community. Read more articles on career development and mentorship on the IDEO U blog.

What’s your role at IDEO?

I’m an experiential designer in IDEO’s Play Lab, where we use play as a practice for challenging the way we approach problems and connecting people through meaningful experiences. At IDEO, I enjoy breaking tools. I work with teams to create memorable moments by breaking the physics of our collaboration and design tools—whether it’s an immersive design showcase or a virtual magic show.

“My best work and the best work I’ve seen in others has always come from a place of genuine, unapologetic weirdness.”
Neal Boyer

How would you describe your career path?

I come from a family of artists. My brother sings opera, my sister is an LA-based artist, my mom is a master doodler, my dad does computer animation. As for me, I don’t know what went wrong, but I somehow ended up in mechanical engineering.

After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I did some major soul searching. I knew a more traditional engineering path just wasn’t in the cards for me, but I didn’t have a clear answer of what I actually wanted to do. In May of 2019, I took a leap of faith and moved across the country to join The Magic Patio, a magic theater startup located in the heart of San Francisco. I spent a little over two years there designing and building new magic for in-person and virtual audiences.

Neal preparing a show at The Magic Patio.  

I’m always on the hunt for the next immersive experience or creative use of tech. I like bridging the gap between the digital and physical world. After graduating college, I had a passion project where I made digital treasure hunts for people from all around the world to solve for the chance to win real money. More recently, I’ve been working freelance with Stanford d.school’s Exec Ed team in elevating virtual bootcamps through livestreaming and AR experiences.

What career advice would you give others?

Embrace weird. Wholeheartedly and without any hesitation, embrace your weird side. My best work and the best work I’ve seen in others has always come from a place of genuine, unapologetic weirdness. Who are you when you’re around your closest friends? What’s that thing you’re secretly most jazzed about? Be that person, do that thing.

In pursuing a career in design and being surrounded by talented and creative minds, it’s difficult to not feel imposter syndrome and/or inadequacy. This feeling is real and is felt by many others, whether they admit to it or not. I find the best way to face these feelings is to remind yourself of that genuinely weird place in you and to visit that place often.

"I find the best way to face these [imposter syndrome/inadequacy] feelings is to remind yourself of that genuinely weird place in you and to visit that place often."
Neal Boyer

Learn how to bring your creative ideas to life from IDEO Play Lab founder Brendan Boyle in our online course From Ideas to Action.