2. What sort
of working relationship do you have with your clients? Are you
generally given carte blanche? In what ways does this influence
the end product?
All clients are different. When dealing
with a large company, for the most part they have a set way in
which they like things done. Recently, a lot of small and
mid-size companies have been giving us free range.
They’ve seen what we’ve been doing with action
figures and board games and they want the same end results for
their products.
The reality is you only have a second to
catch someone’s eye. Overloading a package with a lot of
information only confuses the consumer. A confused consumer
ignores the product and walks on by to the competition.
3. How does
your background in fine arts influence your designs? How is
this reflected in the toys you design?
Growing up, both of my parents were
artists. We were frequently visiting museums and galleries.
Before I went into toys I was showing my art on the New York
City gallery circuit. By the time I was 20 I had a full
write-up review in The New York
Times. Fine art is truly my
inspiration for design. Fine art is the way I was raised and
I’m sure it is reflected in my designs.
4. Does
inventing products influence other areas of your business?
Inventing products definitely influences
all areas of our business. When we work directly with a
manufacturer we start to understand their product mix. By
designing their packaging and products we learn the nuances
that make a company click. When we license one of our
inventions we often design the final product and package.
5. What should
a successful ad or package contain? What are some keys to
making your designs stand out from the pack? How do you try to
make Design Edge, as a design company, stand out from its
competition?
A package should act as a mini billboard.
It should be short and sweet. If a company takes a
“me-too” approach with its packaging because a
certain style works for the competition, they will not
accomplish anything except camouflaging their own product line.
Each product should be judged on its own
merit. It should be thought out, with all aspects of its
personality taken into consideration. Not all packages need to
be literal and not all need to be abstract. Packages are like
people, and if everyone is dressed the same, that’s
boring. You have to dress sharp to stand out in the crowd.
At Design Edge we are continually
searching for new ideas and innovations. A lot of things need
to be considered such as construction, materials, and
illustration. We assess the demographic and then twist it up.
Design isn’t just about color and layout, it is an
overall view. It should say just enough to keep the
consumer’s interest.
August 2002
1. Design
Edge is known for conveying a sense of humor in many of its
designs for ads, packaging, and products. Why did you decide to
choose this route? What does this tone convey that other, more
straight-laced, designers may not?
Whether it’s dry, tongue-in-cheek,
or kitsch, humor is an important facet of toys. As a designer,
I want to always convey the message to the consumer that toys
are fun.
A well-constructed print ad campaign can
do wonders for a company. You can keep the trade looking for
what’s next by tossing in a bit of humor. One example
would be the continually running series created for Endless
Games. The campaign has run the gamut, jumping from cute to
demented and everything in between. The campaign is now so much
a part of the company’s image that their buyers actually
call them to find out when the next ad is coming out.
We try to create a piece of art, with our
packaging, that you’ll feel guilty for throwing in the
trash. More and more people are saving packaging and some
people never even open them. A package today should look great
in a retailer’s window and on a collector’s shelf.
If the package conveys a message of fun and humor, then that
mission is complete.
When designing or inventing items there is
only one question to be answered: “Would I buy this for
myself or someone I know?” The answer should always be
“yes.”
Design Edge has invented more than 30
items that we have successfully licensed to companies
throughout the industry. We try and keep them humorous. One of
our items, Tattoo Graphics (Toymax), has been cited on Late Night with David Letterman. Recently, one of my teen music idols, Pantera,
ordered a truckload of a very dark-humor board game I came up
with called GOTH, a game of horror trivia. It will be released this
month, but they read about it in a music magazine and called
McNutty Games, a division of Endless Games, to make an early,
special-request order.
Matt Nuccio is a Partner and Creative
Director of Design Edge, Inc. matt@designedge.net,
www.designedge.net, p516.377.0500
