One thing I could never overemphasize is the importance of establishing a perfect fit between licensed brand and licensee partner. Every licensed brand owner should pursue “perfect fits” rather than granting a license to anyone who would be willing to enter into an agreement and emblazon their … Read More
As Hasbro continues blazing the path of sustainability by eliminating all plastic components from their toy packaging by the end of 2022, it’s interesting to see the innovative solutions that they’ve instituted to replace a broad variety of structural configurations that relied heavily on blisters and acetate … Read More
Two of my favorite brands, Vans and Crayola, have come together yet again for what I refer to as a “perfect fit” colab. Twelve years after their first partnership, the brands are getting back together with the much bigger and more explosively-colorful Vans x Crayola Capsule Collection. … Read More
If you’ve been in the toy industry for as long as I have, you have fond memories of the glory days of NY Toy Fair… the incomparable human traffic jam at the front doors of 200 5th Avenue (aka the International Toy Center, which we lovingly referred … Read More
As a self-proclaimed Star Wars geek, I had been anxiously awaiting Disney+’s latest Star Wars live-action series, The Book of Boba Fett, since that feeling of sadness and emptiness washed over me after the incredible first season of The Mandalorian was over. The Book of Boba Fett debuted … Read More
The development of a packaging program for a licensed brand, when done correctly, is approached from a modular point of view, with its design assets seamlessly accommodating any potential structural configuration across a broad range of consumer product categories throughout the retail environment. Getting this right is … Read More
Packaging for toy and entertainment brands, whether licensed or non-licensed, can't be successfully developed without first considering its context at retail. After all, it won't exist in a vacuum in the retail environment, so it shouldn't be designed in one either. Gain insight by conducting a retail audit The … Read More
This past weekend, while digging through a storage unit filled with toy packaging that our company has designed over the past three decades, I came across the package I designed for the original Super Soaker water gun while employed as Art Director for Larami toys back in … Read More
Back in 2019, Hasbro led the charge towards eliminating plastic from their toy packaging, with the goal of becoming completely plastic-free by 2022. And, they’re well on their way to meeting their goal. With other toy manufacturers following suit in the effort to reduce the impact of … Read More
As many of you already know, I have a penchant for innovative structure design. At Design Force, Inc., we view package structure as a powerful brand differentiator – yet another opportunity to build visual brand equity. As brand marketers and package designers, this opportunity should never be … Read More
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