Client
McDonald’s

Project
Happy Studio

Agency
R/GA London

Role
UX Director

Client
McDonald’s

Project
Happy Studio

Agency
R/GA

Role
UX Director

The challenge.

To reinvent the Happy Studio platform to closer align with McDonald’s values of bringing families together and encouraging children to develop useful skills through purposeful play.

The challenge.

To reinvent the Happy Studio platform to closer align with McDonald’s values of bringing families together and encouraging children to develop useful skills through purposeful play.

A trusted platform.

Creating a secure, low threshold route to play was paramount to the experience. No complex registration or sign-up was required and no personal data was gathered. Any progress was stored locally and gameplay data was collected anonymously.

A trusted platform.

Creating a secure, low threshold route to play was paramount to the experience. No complex registration or sign-up was required and no personal data was gathered. Any progress was stored locally and gameplay data was collected anonymously.

A frictionless route to play.

With families sharing or having multiple mobile devices each user scenario had to be mapped out to ensure a no barrier entry into the platform.

A frictionless route to play.

With families sharing or having multiple mobile devices each user scenario had to be mapped out to ensure a no barrier entry into the platform.

“We’ve loved watching children enjoy playing Happy Studio and having the opportunity to develop across so many areas while they play.”

Lucy Gill, Fundamentally Children

“We’ve loved watching children enjoy playing Happy Studio and having the opportunity to develop across so many areas while they play.”

Lucy Gill, Fundamentally Children

Think. Make. Grow.

The re-imagined Happy Studio is grounded in the principles of epistemic play, a theory that children learn best when they’re engaged in experiences that let them behave like real professionals. Encouraging kids to act like professionals helps them to think creatively, make things they can be proud of, and grow their skills.

Think. Make. Grow.

The re-imagined Happy Studio is grounded in the principles of epistemic play, a theory that children learn best when they’re engaged in experiences that let them behave like real professionals. Encouraging kids to act like professionals helps them to think creatively, make things they can be proud of, and grow their skills.

Developed with experts.

From the outset the app was developed with input from child development experts to inspire children to experiment and solve problems. We partnered with leading game creators to capture children’s imaginations and maintain engagement over multiple franchise windows.

Developed with experts.

From the outset the app was developed with input from child development experts to inspire children to experiment and solve problems. We partnered with leading game creators to capture children’s imaginations and maintain engagement over multiple franchise windows.

Rewards not rivalry.

Making the experience fun without the anxiety of competition was an important ambition. We created mischievous moments of delight, unencumbered by levels or points, and embraced the joy of trial and error by making failure as enjoyable as success.

Rewards without rivalry.

Making the experience fun without the anxiety of competition was an important ambition. We created mischievous moments of delight unencumbered by levels or points, and embraced the joy of trial and error by making failure as enjoyable as success..

Results

Results

A family that plays together.

An accompanying parent portal communicates the platform’s developmental goals, providing resources for expanding mobile entertainment into real world activities and challenges for families.

A family that plays together.

An accompanying parent portal communicates the platform’s developmental goals, providing resources for expanding mobile entertainment into real world activities and challenges.

Awards

Results