Barbie Dreamhouse, World of Barbie, Santa Monica, 2023
Daria Maksimova's journey as a designer in the field of immersive entertainment has taken her from creating moments for iconic brands like Barbie and Dr. Seuss to designing interactive challenges for Nerf enthusiasts. Throughout her career, Maksimova has established a unique portfolio working with giants of the entertainment and consumer industries, such as Mattel, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, and Hasbro. The large-scale projects she designed have spanned across North America, featuring in prestigious venues like the Santa Monica Place next to Third St Promenade, Tyson’s Corner in Washington DC, and the L.A. Live Arena.
April 2023 is a particularly exciting time for Maksimova as World of Barbie, a captivating, interactive touring attraction that she designed, opens in Santa Monica, California. This show, produced by Kilburn Live in collaboration with Mattel, is based on one of the best-selling iconic toys of all time and coincides with the summer premiere of the Barbie film. As a lead designer, Maksimova's dream of showcasing her work in Santa Monica has finally come to fruition.
Dr. Seuss Experience - the field of clovers, based on “Horton Hears a Who!”
Meanwhile, the Dr. Seuss Experience, another project for which Maksimova served as the lead designer, makes its debut in Washington DC's Tyson's Corner Center shopping mall. The show, which launched in Toronto in 2019, quickly became a commercial success and earned a spot on Time Out magazine's "50 Coolest Places in the World" list. Since then, hundreds of thousands of visitors across the U.S. have enjoyed the branded immersive attraction based on the works of the best-selling author Dr. Seuss.
Maksimova's portfolio also includes the Nerf Challenge, a participative game-play experience based on Hasbro’s popular toy brand. The project initially opened as a touring feature at L.A. Live arena at the end of 2019 and later became a permanent attraction.
“Nerf Challenge '' game-play arena, L.A. live.
One of Maksimova's most notable accomplishments is her work on Luminasia, an illuminated outdoor experience in Monterrey, Mexico. In 2014, the event brought in 700,000 visitors in just 30 days. The central feature, a giant glowing castle situated on a man-made river island, became a lasting landmark in the city's Fundidora Park.
In order to create innovative and engaging designs, Maksimova emphasizes the importance of diving deep into the subject matter while also leaving room for innovation. For instance, her work on the Dr. Seuss Experience is a testament to her ability to use a subject as an inspiration while still inventing a fresh vision.
Throughout her career, Maksimova has learned to overcome challenges by visualizing the end goal, focusing on daily milestones, and investing in her creative skills. She believes creativity is a muscle, and practice helps refine her ability to translate ideas into physical form.
Maksimova's aspirations for the future include creating an immersive experience that can live in an art gallery, as well as an experience that is based on a film. Daria is excited to keep desinging environments that entertain people and that they can revisit. She understands first-hand the responsibility that comes with designing large-scale shows that thousands will visit, have multi-million budgets, and often collaborated with giants in the entertainment industry.
With a solid track record of success and a history of being the lead creative on commercially successful shows, Maksimova's story as a lead designer is a continuous journey of hard work and dedication. Her work on immersive experiences has not only garnered attention from industry giants but has also become seasonal landmarks in the cities they visit, contributing to their cultural scene and entertaining hundreds of thousands of people who experience them.
Photography by: Courtesy of Daria Maksimova
