We collaborated with Mattel via Little Bee Books to create Hot Wheels: Exploring the Wild Wilderness, an 18-page novelty board book featuring interactive lift-the-flap elements.

After being approved by the Mattel licensor, acclaimed artist Flávio B Silva created illustrations for 8 richly detailed landscape spreads with a total of 30 flaps. These included the rugged climbing terrain of Moab, the marshy swamps of the Florida Everglades and the dusty planes of the Serengeti. Each spread showcases cinematic compositions and semi-realistic, immersive environments for the Hot Wheels vehicles to explore. The settings were carefully curated to integrate engaging educational insights about the ecology of each unique habitat. Vibrant colours and whimsical creatures make this book an enticing experience for any young Hot Wheels fan!

Agent Flora Rees-Arredondo, Flávio’s representative on Exploring the Wild Wilderness, noted, “It was a great experience working with both Art Director Rob Wall at Little Bee Books and Flávio to bring this nonfiction Hot Wheels novelty flap book to life! Flávio put a lot of research into his illustrations in order to meet the detailed brief and to best represent each species in its natural environment. He also excels in turning around initial sketches very quickly. I was impressed by how he could go directly to color comps, rather than go through black-and-white sketches, to best pitch the concepts. With minor notes, it all got approved to go to finals quickly!”

We worked closely with the licensors to maintain brand integrity while crafting something both captivating and true-to-life. Reach out to the Collaborate team to start exploring how we can match our design expertise to your brand.