Mattel’s Kim Culmone on how to innovate with an iconic toy brand for over 65 years

Barbie is “so much more than a toy…when a kid takes that toy out of the box, they project their own storytelling and aspirations and creativity onto it, and all the other stuff is important, but it sort of falls away.”

In this episode, I dive into the fascinating world of toy design with Kim Culmone, Head of Design at Mattel, Inc.. Originally a textile designer, Kim got her start at Mattel as a temp and worked her way up the ladder over 25 years - contributing in major ways to Barbie’s 65-year legacy. Barbie isn’t the only thing in her portfolio either - she oversees product design for American Girl, Monster High, Polly Pocket and many other Mattel products. With that kind of broad view, she shares great insights - whether on how to build a legacy brand in the fickle toy industry, or how to take feedback from brutally honest 6-year-old kids. 

Kim's insights into toy design & decision-making process are especially key. Here are some key takeaways that I’d like to highlight for you:

Play is serious business

“Now we have neuroscience backed data that shows when children, whether playing alone or together, regardless of gender, when they play with dolls like Barbie, it actually impacts the parts of our brains that develop empathy.”

Despite the ubiquity of toys in our lives and an industry valued at over $100 billion, we must not underestimate the significance of these seemingly simple products. I would never look at my kid’s toys the same way after this episode. Toys can draw on so many crafts, whether it is fashion, industrial design, or engineering. And, while we may design toys for fun, there are notable downstream effects: they can help children with their cognitive, emotional, and social development. Even the act of dressing a doll can help improve a developing child’s dexterity. 

Be true to the DNA of your product

“Some of the business side may be like, great, make it more rainbow. We in design are like, no, like this is the thing that makes it new and different. We can't make it less scary or less dark. it needs to hold on to its DNA. And so having to fight for those things. And I came in and I said, no; we're not going to relaunch the brand if we have to do it this way.“

It is important to seek out all sorts of feedback, but at the end of the day you need to stay true to the vision of the product. Kim was given business guidance to make the Monster High toy experience similar to Barbie’s…more colorful, mainstream and conventional, but she knew she would end up far from the edgy alternative that was core to the brand’s appeal. Her decision to keep the course was what made the product differentiated and successful.  

Lead with your intuition

Similarly - as a leader, Kim relies on a lot of employees and resources for insights - but at the end of the day she has to make a call on what to do. That decision-making requires some degree of intuition - but it’s not magic; it’s really about trusting your learned expertise and pattern matching skills. Those enable you to build instincts, without the need for conscious reasoning. Building your intuition is a critical part of becoming a strong product leader.

Lastly, Kim mentioned how Mattel has an Imagination Center - a place where they can observe kids interact with new toys in order to gain greater insight into the state of play and what works. What about you? Do you have a similar model at your workplace?

Check out the full episode for many more great insights.

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