By Laura Eley
Ordering a Happy Meal from McDonald’s in October, alumna Kim Price received more than fries, chicken nuggets and a drink: she saw her design for the Happy Meal box and gift card, which are in stores today.
Ms. Price said that McDonald’s chooses different companies to design their Happy Meal boxes. Recently, McDonald’s chose Leo Burnett in Chicago where Ms. Price works. As the art director on the McDonald’s account, Ms. Price’s focus was the youth portion of the business including the design of the Happy Meal boxes.
“Every few weeks, McDonald’s partners with new companies to produce Happy Meal boxes, posters and showcases for the toys in the restaurants. I had the pleasure to work with EA SPORTS (Madden NFL 15) and Hasbro (Littlest Pet Shop),” Ms. Price said.
Ms. Price said the design team bases their work on briefs from strategists.
“I knew for Madden NFL 15 that the cover art of the game each year is truly iconic. Combining the info from the brief with our knowledge of Madden, the creative team thought it would be amazing to take that cover art and make it work for the box,” Ms. Price said. “It was really cool because I was able to work with the game designers and create a special player and backgrounds just for McDonald’s to be used on the box and other merchandising pieces. For Littlest Pet Shop, Hasbro wanted to really convey the personalities of the different characters. So we came up with the idea to create a matching game for the pop out house.”
In high school, Ms. Price was valedictorian of the Class of 2008, editor of the “Blue Devil’s Advocate” and a member of honors organizations.
She studied graphic design and print and broadcast journalism in the Center for Communications.
Ms. Price said that the center helped prepare her for the work she does today.
“It gave me the foundation of design principles, the ability to network and connect with multiple people and a work ethic,” Ms. Price said. “The center really was my first step to being a designer. In college, I double majored in graphic design and advertising. From there it was a lot of networking and taking advantage of the opportunities that came my way.”
Kim’s center teachers describe her as a leader was destined for success.
“I knew that she would go wherever she wanted,” graphics teacher Joey Boehling said.
“She was a natural leader for the class,” communications teacher Lesley St. James said.
Kim’s mother, Jill Price, said that Kim is well-rounded and humble.
“She amazes me with the things she does,” Mrs. Price said.
Beverley Lanier, Ms. Price’s AP English 12 and Communications Writing and Production I teacher, said that the news of her accomplishment didn’t surprise her.
“Kim was an exceptional student who always worked very hard. She has the ability to look at the world, take something relatively complex and convey it to others,” Ms. Lanier said. “I was happy for her. I was excited for her, but I wasn’t surprised.”
Kim offered advice for center students.
“I would say pay attention to what sparks your interest. I can remember one project where we recreated a layout for a magazine. I found that to be a little spark that led me down my career path,” Ms. Price said. “Also, I would say it’s important to understand that the center is about more than producing TV shows and the newspaper. It really teaches life skills.”
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