On July 23, 2024, Barbie announced its first Blind Barbie Fashionista Doll, created to allow even more children to find a doll that represents them and inspire all children to tell more stories through play. Barbie partnered with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) to ensure all details of the blind Barbie doll, including face sculpt, fashion, accessories, packaging experience, and e-commerce communication, accurately depict an individual with blindness or low vision.
As the brand's most diverse doll line, the Barbie Fashionistas series offers more than 175+ looks in a variety of skin tones, eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disabilities and fashions. The 2024 Blind Barbie Fashionista doll aims to advance Barbie’s continued goal of reflecting a multi-dimensional view of beauty and fashion, allowing more children to see their world reflected through play.
Read the Press Release Visit Blind Barbie at Mattel
Designing Inclusion: How Mattel and AFB Made Blind Barbie a Reality
Curious to unpack the details of the first ever Blind Barbie Fashionista Doll and our role in building this inclusive product? AFB presents a report that explores the impact of the AFB and Mattel partnership, along with highlights on how inclusive product design, digital accessibility, and thoughtful storytelling can drive both social value and business growth.
In this paper, we dive into not only the discovery and complete process of creating the Blind Barbie Fashionista Doll — which spanned 1.5 years — but also the value of inclusive narratives and broader outcomes that followed the release. Learn how we broadened inclusion in the toy industry and set a new precedent for how disability can be authentically represented.
