HNU to the World!

Hannam Design Factory" has showcased its talent on the global stage. TMS (The Marketing Store), a design partner for the Happy Meal at McDonald's in the United Kingdom, conducted a Happy Meal toy development project for students from various countries who are members of the Design Factory Global Network (DFGN). In this project, student teams from Hannam University's Design Factory won first place (HMD team), third place (GOLDEN ARCH team), and fifth place (MARCH team). The first-place entry is slated for commercialization in UK McDonald's in 2025.

The project involved 21 student teams from six countries, including Brunel University in the UK, UPV University in Spain, Icubo University in Chile, Javeriana University in Cali, Colombia, and Javeriana University in Bogotá, all members of the DFGN.

Students from these countries worked on the project for a semester, engaging in online live feedback and Q&A sessions with TMS's design team on idea meetings and prototype development. TMS required the designs for the McDonald's Happy Meal toys to also convey messages of energy resource savings, carbon emission reduction, and avoidance of plastic products as part of environmental protection practices.

The winning Hannam University HMD team showcased Happy Meal toy products based on traditional Korean games (kite flying, hoop rolling, tuho) as their theme. The HMD team, consisting of seven students from Media & Film Studies, Convergence Design, and Global Business, developed three products under the 'World of the Game_Korea Series'.

The GOLDEN ARCH team, which won third place, developed a product that tells a story of saving an imaginary 'm’c Island', which faces rising sea levels due to global warming, by sailing boats and cleaning up garbage. The MARCH team, which placed fifth, developed a Happy Meal toy set using endangered animals and eco-friendly materials.

Meanwhile, Hannam University's Design Factory is an innovative educational platform for creative convergence, where students from different majors collaborate in teams to share ideas and develop creative prototypes requested by companies, breaking down barriers between departments.