Mid Mod Dreamhouse

2025

Mattel’s Barbie Chelsea Can Be campaign is a series of toys that teaches girls that they can choose any career in life. It accomplishes this goal by planting ideas like Rock Star, Pilot, and even Astronomer. Mid Mod Dreamhouse meets a gap in the series: Barbie Chelsea can be a Designer.
A team of designers approached the problem from a historic perspective. The Mid-Century Modernism movement was chosen because in a simple way, it conveys design as product, practice, and creative synthesis. For this reason, the team chose to put 40s-60s design in front of the eyes of a young audience. While playing with their toysets, young girls will have come into contact with architecture, furniture artifacts, illustration, fashion design, music, and abstract ideas like modular play.  The first piece in the set is a dreamhouse with interchangable slide-in walls, Mid-Mod furnishings, and a button installed that plays historic music. Included with this is a storybook about design, two dolls that match the characters in the story, and an instructions manual. A second collectible featuring Chelsea as a designer is sold separately.
A team of designers approached the problem from a historic perspective. The Mid-Century Modernism movement was chosen because in a simple way, it conveys design as product, practice, and creative synthesis. For this reason, the team chose to put 40s-60s design in front of the eyes of a young audience. While playing with their toysets, young girls will have come into contact with architecture, furniture artifacts, illustration, fashion design, music, and abstract ideas like modular play.  The first piece in the set is a dreamhouse with interchangable slide-in walls, Mid-Mod furnishings, and a button installed that plays historic music. Included with this is a storybook about design, two dolls that match the characters in the story, and an instructions manual. A second collectible featuring Chelsea as a designer is sold separately.
Mid Mod Dreamhouse is a product developed for educational purposes and not in affiliation with Mattel. Lydia Meadows was responsible for illustration, copywriting, and doll garment design and production. Caroline Davis, Madi Green, and Noah Rigsby were responsible for packaging design, music composition, prototyping, instruction manual design, print production, copywriting, photography, and the physical design and production of the Mid Mod Dreamhouse set.
I would be glad to connect you with my teammates. Feel free to reach out for a referral.
Lydia Meadows: Illustration, copywriting, doll garment design & production
Caroline Davis: Packaging design, music composition, prototyping
Madi Green: Instruction manual design, print production, copywriting, photography
Noah Rigsby: Mid Mod Dreamhouse design & furniture production
This website changes FAST & OFTEN! You're seeing iteration 3.

What's in the works now? Adding two bespoke typeface projects, a Brand Identity Design project for a B2B Harvard startup called Skye Performance, Copywriting for my design philosophy, transitioning to a more professional email address, and brainstorming for smoother UX.
You better check back tomorrow!

Do you like the way I think? Let's chat about bringing my creative mind to your team (Coffee's on me $$$)!

© 2026 Lydia Meadows
This website changes FAST & OFTEN! You're seeing iteration 3.

What's in the works now? Adding two bespoke typeface projects, a Brand Identity Design project for a B2B Harvard startup called Skye Performance, Copywriting for my design philosophy, transitioning to a more professional email address, and brainstorming for smoother UX.
You better check back tomorrow!

Do you like the way I think? Let's chat about bringing my creative mind to your team (Coffee's on me $$$)!

© 2026 Lydia Meadows