Hat Maker - Letter to parents

Dear parent,

As a kid, I loved getting my hands messy – especially when it came to crafts. Fingers sticky from glue, I’d paste, cut and use (copious) amounts of glitter until my masterpiece was complete. I loved the satisfaction I got from combining multiple materials and techniques to turn a blank canvas into something magical.

Our newest app Hat Maker takes the tactile joy of arts and crafts and combines it with something all kids love – silly hats! Hats have a magical ability to transform – who doesn’t remember reaching into their dress-up trunk, pulling out a hat, and becoming a brave firefighter, crazy clown, regal king or fancy magician?

In this app, kids have full creative control of their very own hat shop – they’ll greet new customers, design them a custom hat with dozens of patterns, shapes, cut-outs and stickers, then snap a picture and ring them through the cash register. My favourite feature is the new camera function – where you can take a photo of yourself in your new hat! (Or, in my case, my dog Nino. He looks especially fetching in a glittery top hat.)

Have fun creating!

Tracy Mon, Jr. Play Designer

How to Play

Invite your first customer into the store by ringing the bell. Move back and forth through the craft stations by tapping the left or right arrows – your hat and customer will follow! Try out different shapes, patterns or colours, and watch your customer react to their new hat. You can then snap a picture of your happy customer by pressing the camera icon. Want to try it on yourself? Just click the hat icon in the bottom right corner! When you’re happy with your new creation, ring your customer through the cash register.

To talk about

How many different types of hats can you think of? Did you design a hat for Harvey the dog or Larry the log? What did the hat look like? How does it feel to own your very own shop? Does your shop have a name?

The Team
Richard Hilmer, Developer
Manuel Afonso, Developer
Yuliya Boublikova, Animator
Lisa Armstrong, Play Designer
Tracy Mon, Jr. Play Designer
Aaron Leighton, Artist
Elaine Hsu, Artist
Mike Pereira, Artist
Vanessa Logan, Technical Artist
Danny Simmons, Sound Design
Ryan Fairley, Quality Assurance