Underwater Adventure
Happy Meal Experience
Brief
For this project we were given the task of creating packaging designs for our own McDonald's Happy Meal. The requirements were to use specific parts of the McDonald's brand, such as the logo, the smile, and the brand colors. For my theme I wanted to go with Underwater.
Challenge
I chose this specific idea because I knew I was fascinated by the ocean when I was a child. Also, I know how much kids love animals. The primary target audience is children ranging from the ages of 6-10, because I think that with the added learning experience this age range will appreciate it more. However I do still think younger children would enjoy how interactive the meal is.
Role
Researching, Designing, Prototyping, Constructing, Photographing
Application & Equipment
Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, iPhone
Client
Class Project
Templates
These are my test templates that I used to test the shape and make sure that they would be assembled correctly
Research
I first started off by gathering all the required parts needed for the McDonald's brand. Then got pictures of different sea animals to get ideas for how to draw them. I created a mood board full of inspiration to get started. After making the graphics and deciding which animals would be on the box, I researched facts that I would have in speech bubbles. I think my design started to change and steer away from my initial mood board. In the end I went more for bright colors that would appeal to kids rather than only using deep blues and purples.
Sketches
McDonald's Box
I wanted these sides to go together seamlessly. A lot of these graphics are on more than one page to do so. The Underwater Adventure is the title page. The first and third pages are the interactive pages. One includes a game of I Spy, while the other reveals a surprise once the window is cut. The code takes you to a website where you can do augmented reality that has to do with the ocean.
Inside the box
Another part of the box that is interactive is the side with the submarine window. The idea is that kids will be able to cut a hole where the window, revealing what would be outside the window which is the ocean.
Cup, Fry, & Nuggets
I wanted to make these components more simple as to not distract too much from the actual Happy Meal box.
Cup: Instead of going with a gradient background I went with dark blue to help the starfish stand out. It also helped add more variation.
Fry: I focused on making it look like the "M" logo was at the bottom of the ocean, but I didn't want it to look as detailed as the box.
Nuggets: The idea is that this is a treasure chest and instead of gold coins, there are golden nuggets that would be inside.
Toy
For the toy I went with the game of Go Fish. I designed the box where the cards would be held inside. For the cards I would put each of the little creatures I drew as well as a few more not seen on the box i.e. shark and dolphin. I would also add a number to each of these cards. This toy would help children learn matching skills and numbers.
