Heya! I’m Olivia, and I’m a pre-junior industrial design student at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

Funny thing about my application to Hasbro; I actually ended up interviewing with about 5 different teams at Hasbro before I landed on the FurReal Friends and Baby Alive team. I couldn’t help but laugh every time I got a new email saying a team wanted to talk with me. I even had 2 interviews right back to back in one day. The people at Hasbro were really supportive throughout the entire process though. It’s safe to assume I was able to eventually land the job, considering I am now making a blog post as an intern.

Speaking of toy design, my actual work varies from sketching different potential designs for accessories and new toys, working on color and/or pattern studies, renders, brand research, and pattern creation. Even though I’m still relatively new to Industrial design (this is my first design job), my coworkers still give me actual design work and are really patient with showing me the ropes.

There are quite a few things that I like about working here at Hasbro, but my monkey brain demands I write about the free piles. Different teams all around the building will often leave various toys and supplies they don’t need any more in designated “free piles” for people to take from. Which is perfect for a packrat (me) who enjoys filling up their space with as many cute figurines and knick-knacks as humanly possible. Also, pro tip: Don’t be afraid to talk to people and go to events. Everyone here is super nice and would love to strike up a conversation, and there’s groups for a bunch of different interests where you can go meet people who like the same things as you.

As a kid who grew up playing with a large majority of the brands that I’m now working with, its weirdly nostalgic to now be a part of the process of making the toys that kids will be playing with. I know toy design isn’t making medical instruments or finding the cure for world hunger or some other huge world changing idea, but it is uplifting to think that what I contribute to a toy could be one of the defining parts of a kid’s life. I could be helping to make a kid’s future favorite toy. And that’s really one of the best parts of this field.

Olivia, Baby Alive and FurReal Friends Product Design Co-op

University of Cincinnati