World of Business
For Cortina Productions, I was commissioned to design concept screens for an educational, immersive experience aimed at teaching young teens the foundational principles of business and investing. Set in a fictional city called Profit Park, the experience offers students an engaging, interactive learning environment. Through a series of virtual simulations, participants explore core concepts such as scarcity, property rights, competition, and international trade. I worked with Cortina Productions’ team of producers, 3D artists, a creative director, and project managers to translate a complex UX flow and narrative into visual mockups that the team used for the project pitch to Junior Achievement.
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Concept Design
Art Direction
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John McCarthy
Jenna Hoscan
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Virginia, New York, Colorado
In this interactive experience, your character is a resident of the fictional neighborhood Profit Park. Your mission is to build and manage a successful business by making strategic decisions, creating new products, and completing challenges designed to test your economic knowledge. Choose wisely: your decisions unlock new locations across the neighborhood (and the globe) and shape the encounters you navigate throughout the game.
The team at Cortina carefully crafted the business categories and dialogues to ensure the experience is suited to a global market while keeping the language casual and targeted toward high schoolers. Through several styling iterations across characters and UI, the pitch features a mix of abstract graphics, diverse characters, bold color, and an interplay of flat and bubbly design. I leveraged a low-poly isometric illustration style across the screens, blending sharp edges and rounded corners to create a dynamic look that brings this utopian world to life.
As they navigate through the experience, students will be encouraged to think critically, collaborate with peers, and apply their newfound understanding to real-world business situations. The inclusion of a shoe business under the fashion category was a deliberate decision by Cortina to create a relatable connection with the audience.
workshop concept one
workshop concept two
The experience is designed to make learning dynamic and fun, ensuring that students grasp key business concepts and develop the skills to think strategically in an ever-changing global marketplace. As the concept designer, it was essential for me to immerse myself in the experience while designing it, navigating the production script as a potential user.
Throughout the experience, students were encouraged to take notes, communicate with classmates, and provide feedback to foster strong collaboration and teamwork.
For inspiration, my inner teen went back to high school and drew from my favorite games, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Animal Crossing, among others —merging a complex UI system with a dreamlike ethos to create a robust world that, at first glance, could be described as “cute.” This intentional choice was meant to build a trusting, playful environment for teenagers navigating complex business development mechanics in an experimental setting.
© 2025 Montse Díaz — All Rights Reserved.
These concepts were created in collaboration with Cortina Productions as part of a shared creative process. They do not reflect the final version of the design, and my role was solely as the concept designer. The illustrations and graphic assets shown here are licensed from stock sources and used solely for presentation purposes. Please respect the integrity of this work; do not reproduce, screenshot, quote, or reuse any part of it without written permission. For licensing, inquiries, or collaborations, please contact me. ✦