Maddi Macechko is a junior product design major at Drexel University. She is currently on co-op at K’nex, the toy company of our childhood. For those of you who did not have as fun of a childhood as me, K’nex creates unique toy experiences geared towards kids between the ages of 5-9 years old. Toys range from educational systems to “k-force blasters,” and roller coasters, but you might be more familiar with their connecting sets. K’nex also has licensing for third-party games like Plants vs. Zombies, Mario, and My Little Pony.
Maddi is currently a design intern, which not only means she gets to play with the toys but also gets to come up with ideas for new toys to create and hit the market. She is currently working with her design team to create some larger displays that will be showcased later in the year in addition to working on K’nex’s fall product launch line. Though she did not offer any hints to the product launch line, she did say it’s an exciting time to be working at K’nex. Now, we can’t wait to see what the launch has in store.
Maddi is from Baltimore, Maryland, where she transferred from a small arts college in the city to relocate and attend Drexel University. Though she loved being close to home, she was looking for a program that combined sculptural and graphic elements. As she looked deeper into Drexel’s offerings, she found product design to be a perfect fit with the bonus of having a co-op! The bonus of having a co-op helped seal the deal and made her parents feel more comfortable with her transferring.
When Maddi is not designing the next new toy, she is actively involved on campus through her sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma, and is part of the Industrial Designers Association, IDSA. Though she is not sure what wants to do career wise after Drexel, she does know she wants to combine sculptural and graphic design elements in her future career, such as working for West Elm, Crate & Barrel, or Alessi. For now, she is content with staying in Philadelphia to live and work in the Philadelphia area. No matter which direction Maddi decides to go, we know that she’ll do great things!