Frances Franceschi

Frances Franceschi is assistant director of creative design at Universal Creative. In this role, she played a key role in bringing the new Universal Epic Universe theme park in Orlando to life.

A lifelong theme park fan, she joined Universal Creative after earning her architecture degree from the University of Central Florida, where she started in the core design studio as an associate show set designer, assisting the architecture and master planning teams during the early design phases.

She graduated as a senior master planner, specialising in large-scale park-wide master planning and smaller site plans, as well as attraction development for the UDX parks worldwide. Her portfolio includes projects such as Super Nintendo World, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Minion Land, and Epic Universe.

After working on the early design phases of Epic Universe, she worked as a senior show set designer for the park's Dark Universe land. A highlight included Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, where, as production designer, she oversaw the creative design and execution of the attraction’s ride floor.

One nominator said: "Frances is a stand-out professional and all-around fantastic creative. She put in so much time and effort with Epic Universe, specifically with Monsters Unchained, creating an unparalleled experience! She was my mentor while I was contracted with Universal ,and her guidance, patience, professionalism, and can-do attitude were much appreciated.

"She is a great leader for both her peers and young professionals who look up to her."