For more than 25 years, our team has developed licensing program style guides for top-tier entertainment brands across every genre imaginable – from classic character-driven properties to those based on animated series, blockbuster films, toy brands and gaming franchises. During that time, we’ve produced tens of thousands … Read More
In the world of toy and entertainment brand licensing, the consumer product licensing program style guide plays a pivotal role in delivering core and trend-based design assets to licensee partners on an annual or seasonal basis. They can range from behemoth programs for mature brands with a … Read More
As we continue to refine our philosophies and approach to the design of packaging programs for licensed brands, we take into consideration the questions asked by licensed brand owners and licensee partners alike. Their questions reveal the challenges they’re facing as their needs and the retail environment … Read More
Some licensed product packaging programs are underachievers. They consist of very little in terms of package design assets and they offer very little direction with regard to standardization. The licensed brand owner doesn’t give packaging much thought or concern because they’re extremely product-focused. And they don’t realize … Read More
When consumers make purchases in retail environments, they're usually making up their minds in as little 10 to 20 seconds – according to research conducted by consumer behavior experts. They also ignore up to 2/3 of competitive products in the process. These statistics show just how difficult … 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
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
In my last post, I discussed how the role of the pencil sketch has changed dramatically with the adoption of digital technology as the industry-wide standard approach to articulating design solutions. However, those of us who favor pencil and paper over paths and pixels during the conceptualization … Read More
Long, long ago, before digital technology began to infiltrate the world of design, promising to simplify the more laborious tasks associated with the discipline, the ability to articulate design solutions merely using pencil and paper was a prerequisite. Whether taking the form of rough thumbnails generated during a … Read More
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