McDonald’s happy meal toy

Context

This was a group project for a class assignment where we were tasked with creating a fun and innovative McDonald’s Happy Meal toy for the Fluke Toy Corporation. The toy had to be low-cost, sustainable, safe for kids, injection moldable, and something the market hadn’t seen before. Safety was a major design constraint — every component had to pass the choking hazard test device, which is a tube with a 1.25” internal diameter and a depth of 1–1.25”. Our team wanted something that felt interactive, playful, and stimulating for kids, so we landed on the idea of a French fry puzzle. The toy consists of puzzle piece–shaped fries that fit into a fry box, with a riddle on the Happy Meal box that encourages kids to assemble the puzzle in order to reveal the answer hidden underneath.

Solution

Our final design was a puzzle made of interlocking “fry” pieces that slide into one another, gradually increasing in height toward the back of the box to hint at how they should be assembled. The fry box itself acts as both packaging and part of the toy, with a clear polycarbonate bottom that slides into place and reveals a message once the puzzle is completed. Within the team, I focused on designing the box and making sure it could properly house the pieces while still functioning as part of the puzzle. This meant thinking through how the pieces would fit, how the bottom would slide in and out, and how the box could guide the user toward solving the puzzle. The result was a playful, hands-on toy that encourages curiosity and problem-solving while meeting the design constraints of safety, manufacturability, and cost.

Skills
Prototyping, CAD, Tolerancing, Assembly

Teamwork, Branding and Marketing