Digital Gaming Interface Design & Art Direction for Mattel Media
Services User Interface Design, Art Direction, Digital Asset Implementation
Challenge: Digital Games Failing to Connect with Girls' Play Patterns
Mattel Media faced a critical disconnect: their digital games weren't resonating with girls because they ignored how girls actually play. While competitors created generic digital experiences, Mattel needed interfaces that authentically mimicked in-real-life (IRL) play patterns—the tactile, imaginative, and social aspects of traditional toy play.
The design challenges were fundamental:
Physical-to-digital translation gap: Screen-based experiences couldn't capture the tactile satisfaction and three-dimensional manipulation of real toys
One-way digital dead end: Games kept play trapped on screens, missing girls' desire for tangible outcomes and real-world application
Generic gaming conventions: Standard digital game patterns ignored how girls value creative expression, customization, and social sharing
Age-appropriate complexity: Interfaces needed calibration from preschool simplicity to tween creative sophistication
Generic digital game design would continue missing the audience. Adding superficial "girl" themes to standard gaming mechanics wouldn't honor authentic play preferences. Without strategic interface design rooted in developmental understanding, digital products couldn't compete with the play value of physical toys.
Solution: Digital Interfaces Honoring Real Play Patterns
We created multiple digital gaming experiences, each designed to translate specific IRL play patterns into intuitive digital interfaces that enhanced rather than replaced traditional play.
Barbie Nail Designer: Digital-to-Physical Creative Bridge Designed salon experience with Barbie as personal manicurist, featuring three distinct experiences, custom polish creator with unlimited color mixing, beauty box storage system, and critical print-to-sticker functionality enabling girls to apply digital creations to real nails. Successfully bridged digital-physical divide by transforming screen time into tangible play outcomes.
Barbie Generation Girl Gotta Groove: Three-Dimensional Doll Play Created interface deliberately mimicking physical doll play through dress-up functionality replicating clothes-changing satisfaction, performance play scenarios for directing dolls, and three-dimensional visual design making digital dolls feel manipulable as physical ones. Preserved imaginative and nurturing aspects while expanding possibilities through digital interactivity.
Magna Doodle: Preschool Simplicity Through Familiarity Designed for preschoolers by replicating original Fisher-Price toy's visual design for instant recognition, simplifying interactions to match developmental abilities, and maintaining essential drawing experience. Created digital comfort through visual and functional familiarity, requiring minimal learning curve.
Impact: Enhanced Play Value Across Digital and Physical Worlds
The digital gaming program delivered measurable success:
Increased engagement: Interfaces felt familiar and intuitive by honoring existing play preferences
Extended play value: Digital-to-physical features (printable nail stickers) connected screen time to real-world activities
Brand loyalty built: Designs honored what girls already loved about traditional Mattel toys
Meaningful screen time: Digital experiences enhanced rather than replaced real-world play
Developmental appropriateness: Each project calibrated to audience stage, from preschool simplicity to tween creative complexity
Mattel Media gained digital gaming experiences matching their toy design excellence: developmentally appropriate, authentically girl-focused, and strategically bridging digital creativity with physical play outcomes.