McWonder is an interactive, location-guessing mini-game integrated directly into the McDonald’s app. It invites families to explore and guess iconic McDonald’s locations around the world, turning a standard food purchase into a shared family activity.
This project explores expanding McDonald’s digital ecosystem. As the company continues to invest in its mobile app, it's seeking new ways to increase downloads and strengthen its loyalty program, with a key focus on deepening engagement with families.
@ Hamburger University
Meet Our Team!
Presented to 6 McDonald’s senior directors
We worked with McDonald’s Family Business team to understand their primary business verticals, gaining insight into the value they deliver to users and stakeholders, as well as the company’s future direction. This ensured our feature development complemented McDonald’s existing experience.
Digital tools are becoming central to the dining experience, from discovery to purchase, making app adoption a critical growth driver.
Engagement among children ≤12, the core Happy Meal audience, is declining. McDonald’s aims to create more playful experiences.
McDonald’s seeks to evolve its perception from convenience-first to a more experience-led, and culturally relevant brand.
We conducted user interviews via Zoom with six 8-year-old children (under adult supervision) and six parents to understand family perspectives on the McDonald’s experience.
04.Secondary Research
McDonald’s is a global brand with many unique locations shaped by local culture and history. Around the world, its restaurants can be found in places like historic buildings, train stations, and other unexpected environments.
These distinctive locations offer a different side of the brand, one that is more unique and worth exploring.
05. Design Decisions
With this, we proposed a weekly modular game system called McWonder
Weekly GeoGuessr Challenge
Users unlock a weekly challenge through a food purchase to access the game. Using three clues—culture, food, and store environment—they guess McDonald’s locations on a map to progress.
Explore, Learn, and Collect
As users progress, they build a visual map of unlocked locations, with each one revealing cultural insights, local menu items, and stories tied to that place.
Points & Rewards System
Correct guesses earn points that can be used for rewards such as exclusive patches or food redemption. Streaks and bonus multipliers encourage repeat engagement over time.
Annual Giveaway
When users start playing the game, they are entered into a yearly raffle for a chance to win a trip to a unique McDonald’s location around the world. At the end of the year, selected users receive flight tickets to visit their chosen destinations, turning everyday engagement into a real-world experience.
06.Design System
Adding a fun twist to McDonald's pre-existing design system
When I hosted a design critique with McDonald’s Design Director Jesse Wilbur, we received feedback that the experience needed to feel FUN! This led us to design a new layer of playfulness into McDonald’s existing design system.
Nami the Nugget
Icons & Stickers
Color Palette
