We were hired to develop a brand new line of Infant Products for Dex Baby, a manufacturer based in Northern California. Dex has a long history of quality infant and baby products sold worldwide, mostly in the safety and convenience categories. The one category they didn't have was a cohesive "brand" of infant toys and gifts with unique characters full of personality and style.
This case study explores the entire process, from creation to manufacturing. I take you through each stage, highlighting our process and how we guided the client through the development. In just six short months, we successfully made 50+ products, designed a complete branding and packaging look and helped create the first Trade show booth for the launch of the line!
Development Stage
The War Room - A 3 day meeting with our client at a local hotel. During this offsite, we took the client through the development stage, establishing the foundation of the future brand. What would the brand be? What personality would it have? How would it stand up to competitive brands out there in the market? Our goal... to develop a boutique-inspired infant line of products, based on character driven toys and plush.
We filled the room with Post-It meeting sheets as we brainstormed trends, features, animals, and product skus. This was such a vital phase for the team, having all of our ideas and suggestions up on the walls as we narrowed down out findings.
To showcase our preliminary brand direction, we created these mood boards with examples of current products and trends we identified in the market.
We knew our brand would be heavily inspired by different textures and materials. It was important to show the client our vision by presenting these examples.
It was important to show five unique Character Personalities. We used the giraffe as an example, in five different styles so the client can weigh in on their preference.
We explored different animals, showing a common "family" look throughout.
From the beginning, I wanted to pick a color palette that would set the brand apart from many of the current brands in on the market. We recommended a subtle, dusty color palette inspired by vintage plush pieces. It was important that this pieces be timeless toys, handed down generation after generation. A neutral color palate, along with friendly character personalities will help these become family favorites
This was my first attempt at brand name exploration. In our first meeting, I was doodling name ideas and oddly enough, Cinch was my first thought. I loved how simple the name was and that it conveyed a simple, integrated approach. Although I had quite a solid name, I wanted to show the client my complete thought process. I usually group my naming concepts into different themes; Clients always like it when you walk them through your ideas with some structure. It shows you were listening and have their best interest at heart
Name & Logo Development
CINCH & BUTTONED UP were our two Brand Name finalist. Honestly, I liked both of these options a lot. But CINCH was the very first idea I wrote down in the meeting. I loved that it was very simple, one word, easy to remember and summed up everything we wanted in a brand. To be fair though, I explored logo concepts for both. I discovered this process helped us all come to a final conclusion that CINCH was our brand name.
Once we agreed on CINCH, I tried many other options for the logo. I knew we had quite a committee to please so I tried different vibes and styles so the team can pick their favorites. We specifically made these to mix and match, so if there were elements the team liked from multiple options, we could easily try different combinations. Number 5 became a quick favorite for its simplicity and homespun personality. I especially liked the unique icon shape, it felt nostalgic yet modern. Exactly what our brand was designed to be
It was important to show as many different "personalities" in the logo design, as this was a brand new line with no existing look or feel. I wanted to make sure the client felt we had explored as many different designs as possible. With that, our favorite concept began to develop more and more.
We took the favorite and came up with the final four options. The multiple color versions were shown as possible line extensions in the future. Finally, a one colored version for product application
Branding Exploration
The beginning stage of the Cinch branding and line look. Keeping the creative brief in mind, we started to create all the additional components to be used on packaging and collateral.
Orthographic Spec Sheets for Product Development
The blueprints for each and every product! Calling out colors, materials, design features, size and character. A time consuming part of the process, but the most important phase of the development. Each orthographic is sent off to our Asia factory as the instructional hand-off for all sample making. Over 70 individual products were developed for this project
Sample Prototypes
The factory creates a prototype sample of each product, based on the orthographics provided. Each piece is meticulously examined to ensure every detail is executed correctly
Changes and Revisions
This is where the fun really begins! With each round of samples, our team flew up to the client's headquarters for a line review. The entire team reviews each piece and we record all the changes needed.
Pattern Artwork for Custom Printed Fabrics
Inspired by today's fashion and home decor trends, we created four unique pattern designs for custom fabrication. Each pattern not only represents a particular animal category, but also helps identify the Cinch brand in a cluttered aisle of infant toys
Vector Art for Icons & Characters
A full set of 2D, flat vector art was created for all print-based products, marketing collteral and packaging.
Finished Product
Tradeshow Development
