The start of my journey as a designer ironically started with an electrical engineering co-op. I got valuable experience during my time at Hasbro and seeing so many thriving toy designers was a huge part of my decision to go into design!
At Hasbro, I worked on the electrical side of products, including creating demo boxes that modeled the electrical features of toys such as lights, buttons, and speakers.
I also participated in Hasbro's EPIC project where I worked with other co-ops to design a new product for Hasbro from scratch. We created multiple pitch decks for each gate of the project, created digital prototypes, and edited a sizzle reel to demonstrate the pitch. We ultimately presented the pitch deck to upper management! While the contents of this pitch remain confidential, it was a valuable experience in designing and pitching a product concept to leadership.
Hasbro is a frequent partner of Disney and I had the privilege to work with the Star Wars and Marvel brands under their umbrella.
I worked on wiring the prototypes for various products such as the Mandalorian Helmet and Iron Man gauntlet, creating demos for the electrical features of these products as well as quality testing production samples. I also selected the sound effects to be used for Hasbro's bo staff based on Marvel's Shang Chi! I looked through Hasbro's sound library and edited the sounds to be the proper length for the toy.
I worked on a couple of major projects with the Power Ranger brand including the Power Rangers Dino Fury Saber and Hasbro's Power Ranger Morpher.
For the saber, I began the electrical prototype work on the sword's functionality by using my knowledge of circuitry, photoresistors, and coding to create the basic color reader. For the Morpher, I helped create a prototype circuit board. This circuit board was a fully functional electrical prototype with working buttons and switches to control lights, sounds, and modes for the Morpher!
I got the absolute privilege to sit in on an early script reading for My Little Pony: A New Generation before its release on Netflix and to offer my perspective as a MLP fan to the pony team! I also participated in some of the My Little Pony product brainstorming meetings.