UPDATE: Vivid got mentioned in the Gründerszene – the leading German startup magazine – after this blog post. Check it out here
We want you all to get to know our team members a bit better, so we’ll be introducing ourselves here on the blog one-by-one. Today, let’s meet Vivid, who recently joined as our 3rd Co-Founder and Director of Experience Design.
Name: Vivid N. Savitri
At Toywheel since: June 2014
From: Australia
Vivid – Founder, Director of Experience Design
What did you do before Toywheel?
I have more than 10 years of experience in the design industry, having worked in diverse locations stretching from the far east of China to the west coast of California. My passion spans the domains of digital storytelling, video games design and user experience across touch points.
Most recently, I worked as UX Lead in the Cross Platform team at Atlassian in Sydney, leading the Purchase Experience across products like Jira, Confluence and Bitbucket. Prior to that, I was an Associate Creative Director at frog in Munich. I honed my experience in video games design and development while working at Trigger, where I served as Vice President & Creative Director in Shanghai, with a quarterly base in Los Angeles.
Before joining Trigger, I experimented with entrepreneurship by setting up my own design studio. Aptly named ‘Design Sans Frontieres‘ (DSF), the studio dabbled in the fields of video games and interactive design for clients in Europe and China. DSF was later acquired by Trigger in 2007.
What do you do at Toywheel
As Director of Experience Design, I’m responsible for leading the team in terms of design and providing creative direction for the new product that we’re currently working on.
Why Toywheel?
I love motivating and inspiring children to learn and nurture their creativity through the power of play. Toywheel gives me the opportunity to create a different type of educational game that isn’t boring. We want kids to learn the ins-and-outs of creating a game that’s fun to play and encourages social interaction in real life. — Try our game Toy Car RC for free!
How would you summarize yourself in one tweet?
I’m a designr, gamr, skydvr & an avid travelr. I love games, but if you hear me say I’m a recovered game addict, don’t take my word on it.
What was your favorite toy or game when you were a kid?
Super Mario Bros! I remember beating the game (Super Mario 1 and 2) with my older cousins on our Nintendo. We beat the games in 27 hours and 34 hours, respectively, over two summer holidays. Back in the day, you couldn’t save your game progress, so we had to take turns pulling all-nighters. We put a note on the TV/Nintendo (“GAME IN PROGRESS”) to stop other people in the house from turning off the console. Unfortunately, we failed to beat Super Mario 3 due to all kinds of unfortunate mishaps, so this game is still high on our list.
Other than that, I remember playing SimCity and Sim Tower…and some other strategy games like Age of Empire, Pizza Tycoon and the occasional scrabble and chess sessions with my Dad or Granddad.
Which movie inspired you to dream when you were a kid?
I watched heaps of Japanese anime while growing up. One of my all-time favorites was Doraemon, the cat-like robot from the 24th century! Other than that, I loved reading Marvel comics and Japanese manga.
Imagine it’s 2030 and you’re a 10 years-old girl – what toys or games would you be playing with?
Something like Minecraft that you can play in a real-world environment. I’d be able to play it in any city or neighbourhood around me and have others join in real-time.
What games are you playing these days?
DOTA 2, League of Legends, Samurai Siege, Clash of Clans and occasionally QuizUp.
Thanks for the interview, Vivid!