Here’s the thing.
We all remember the one toy that brought us joy while also providing us a functional purpose. For many it was a night light, others a bath toy. This concept design of a product and packaging to go along with the product was inspired by just that, creating a toy that would be able to last in memories as well as leave a reputation of also being functional
River Pals is a concept “toy” series that would produce animals based in river habitats that double as a nap time or bedtime speaker. The packaging for these speakers would be representative of their habits that they originate from, providing the child an environment to imagine their River Pal in when playing during the day.
We all need an imaginary friend to hold our hand growing up…but why doest it have to be imaginary?
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When conceptualizing what materials should be used as the hippos “skin” and leaned into the functionality need. I decided that a silicone material would work best for a product like this to enhance durability and the ability that parents and children would have to clean the speaker throughout the year.
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Since this product is supposed to be a speaker as well, I wanted to make the speaker in a “realistic” place as well as, let’s be honest, a cute location. With that I decided that speaker should be the belly of the hippo and covered in a nylon webbing.
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When thinking about what could be a good option for a friendly pal to a child, I figured choosing an animal that wa easily identifiable to a child as well as not common enough to make it a basic childs product. Although the hippo is the first character developed towards River Pals, the rest of th products would be a giraffe, an alligator, and a zebra.
Packaging
To make this toy as imaginative as possible, the packaging is designed to provide an object that can be used as a space for their River Pal to live. Any child would be able to use the packaging elements such as the grass and blue product insert that acts in place of water so imagine a world for their River Pal.
Included in the packaging is also an informative backing that gives details about the product and other branding elements.
