ALEBRIJE MCDONALD'S HAPPY MEAL
BRIEF
The objective of this project was to create a new McDonald's Happy Meal aimed at a specific target audience by following a design process that involved researching, conceptualizing, designing, and building. The Happy Meal consists of an entree, fries, drink, and a toy, while incorporating the main feature of McDonald's branding as well as a chosen theme. The primary aim of the Happy Meal is to intertwine culture and imagination by featuring Alebrijes from Mexican culture. I wanted to choose something I was passionate about, so I chose something from my own culture.
CHALLENGE
The objective of this Happy Meal was to promote Mexican culture and encourage creativity and imagination through the vibrant characteristics of Alebrijes. Alebrijes are one of the most popular and relatively recent manifestations of Mexican folk art. The target audience is children between the ages of 4 and 11, which is a good age range to build their curiosity. The Happy Meal features various Alebrijes designs through different illustrations and visuals. The meal includes 6-piece chicken nuggets, small fries, a small drink, and a toy that allows children to build their own Alebrije.
ROLE
Research, Illustrations, Packaging Design, Visual Design
TOOLS
Illustrator, Procreate
TEAM
Solo Designer
WHY
School Project
MAIN BOX
For the box design and the entire Happy Meal, I focused on using illustrations. Since Alebrijes are always unique and created from people's imagination, I thought that illustrations would be the best approach for the entire design.
To make it more visually interesting, I created one large illustration that spans across two sides of the Happy Meal. I focused on using contrasting colors to make the Alebrijes bright against the cool, dark background. Information about Alebrijes and their connection to Mexican culture is included on two sides to educate the audience.
6 PIECE CHICKEN MCNUGGETS
For the main entree, I chose to draw a close-up of an Alebrije's face to showcase the intricate details and patterns that define an Alebrije. The colors were selected to complement the primary Happy Meal box.
SMALL FRIES
For the small fries, I chose to illustrate how Alebrijes cannot be seen out in the open. Alebrijes are often portrayed as spirit animals and guardian spirits, living between the living and the dead. Alebrijes protect people and ward off evil spirits. To illustrate this, I created an Alebrije hiding and peeking out behind plants.
SMALL DRINK
For the small drink, I chose to illustrate the traces that an Alebrije leaves behind. Alebrijes are spiritual guides between the living and the dead, and I wanted to showcase that process. Since Alebrijes are an essential element of Day of the Dead, I illustrated flower petals from Marigolds, the most commonly used flower for Day of the Dead. The illustration encircles the entire cup, creating an engaging composition. Flower petals varied in sizes to create depth in the scene.
TOY - CREATE YOUR OWN ALEBRIJE
Each Alebrije is uniquely crafted through an individual's creativity and imagination, and to promote that, I designed a toy where children can create their little Alebrije according to their preferences. Various body parts with different colors and patterns were created to offer options for children to choose from. Children are encouraged to mix and match the different body parts provided to create multiple combinations of what an Alebrije could look like. Below are some examples of the potential designs that could be created with the toy.
PROCESS
RESEARCH
At the beginning of the project, I conducted research on McDonald's branding and the Happy Meal concept to understand and determine what I could create. Additionally, I researched Alebrijes to help me narrow down the information I wanted to include on the Happy Meal box. Based on this, I created a content outline and made a proposal to help me focus on my theme and designs. The research boards were created on Milanote.
SKETCHES
I created rough sketches on Procreate to develop some general ideas for the Happy Meal containers. In my sketches, I focused on incorporating the unique characteristics of Alebrijes. My goal was to create interesting and compelling compositions by having the Alebrijes interact with their environment and using a colorful palette to enhance the mystical feeling. The more defined sketches and color palette shown below were crucial in driving the final designs and illustrations.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Since the beginning, I knew that I wanted all of the containers to feature illustrations. I created semi-simple illustrations that would be easy for children to understand the concept of Alebrijes. As Alebrijes are mostly created by hand, I wanted to incorporate that same feel. Below are a couple of the main illustrations featured on the Happy Meal containers. All illustrations were created using Procreate.
ILLUSTRATION VIDEO PROCESSES
Video processes for illustrations that were done on Procreate. The first video shows how I draw patterns on an Alebrije.
TEMPLATES
PROTOTYPING AND CONSTRUCTION
To create the templates, I disassembled the actual Happy Meal items, measured them, and recreated them using Illustrator. Next, I printed the templates on blank 8.5x11" paper with no design to ensure their accuracy. After designing, I printed all the artwork on the templates to see how each design and artwork looks when constructed. After that, I made final edit and changes before the final printing. For the toy, I experimented with different designs and created prototypes to see what the final product could look like.
REFLECTION
It was a great learning experience to combine packaging and visual design to create an experience for an audience. Although it was initially challenging to ensure that the audience would have the best possible experience with the Happy Meal, this project helped me grow as a designer by providing a new perspective on how design can be much more than just visuals. It was also incredibly rewarding to be able to incorporate my own Mexican culture and heritage into the design, helping people become more aware of the beautiful cultures that exist outside their own. ¡Viva México!
