Designer Daria Maksimova takes fans into the ‘World of Barbie’

Daria Maksimova has been obsessed with art since she was a young girl and completed her 10-year art school education by successfully gaining scholarships to prestigious design universities. Now, as an industry-leading designer and a team member at Kilburn Live, a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, she is helping create experiences for some of the most recognizable brands in the United States.

Daria has had the wonderful opportunity of working as the Lead Designer for significant immersive and interactive experiences with Kilburn Live, such as the Dr. Seuss Experience and NERF Challenge, both highly successful events. ‘The World of Barbie’ is Daria’s most recent project, which is a collaboration between Kilburn and Mattel that opened in Toronto in July 2022 and has already been a commercial and media hit since opening its doors. 

Working alongside such an influential and iconic brand, as well as helping design a project with a multi-million-dollar budget, has been a complicated but exciting process. Daria confesses that, like many girls, she has a great personal attachment to the brand, which is why she feels the project is unique. While growing up, Barbie was Daria’s favorite toy, so she was instantly inspired by the project and eager to use her artistic eye to create an experience for fellow fans to remember.

“It has been an incredible experience working on ‘The World of Barbie,’ a project of such scale, together with Kilburn Live and Mattel as both have been supportive and forward-thinking in terms of creative freedom,” says Daria. 

‘The World of Barbie’ immersive experience lets you step into a life-sized Barbie Dreamhouse, walk down her California-inspired streets to enter interactive rooms that feature exciting careers, such as an Astronaut, Scientist, and Music Producer, to name a few, and slide down right into the Barbie pool. The world launched this summer in Toronto and then moved to major US cities as it is designed to be a touring venture. The 30,000-square-foot interactive attraction features life-size installations that are sure to capture the imaginations and hearts of many generations.

“One of the most challenging yet rewarding projects, ‘The World of Barbie,’ has been a match made in heaven, and it was inspiring to be able to work on it in a role that allowed for some of the most innovative ideas to gain their physical form,” confesses Daria. “This show was built to inspire, educate and empower women of all ages, featuring some of the most exciting careers as interactive spaces.”

“The core concept was to create an aesthetically exceptional space as well as an educational, inspiring, and engaging experience for everyone,” she said. “It is also essential that the execution is top level - and I hope we have successfully achieved that, so the guests are delighted by what they dreamed of experiencing.  

The World of Barbie exhibit has excited Toronto-based fans over the summer, receiving exceptional praise in the media, with articles about the project featured in the Toronto Star, the country’s largest newspaper, Daily Hive, Narcity, and more. With its continued success, Daria is proud to have been such a defining part of the beloved exhibit.

“The show has been extremely well-received by visitors of all ages, which was our goal, and it has also been a huge commercial success, which is super important,” she says. “This is one of the most exciting industries to work in.”