Emily Oberman
Partner,
Pentagram
pentagram.com“Fisher-Price wanted to be less about child
development and more about fun. This
was summed up in a new tagline: ‘Let’s be
kids.’ The new identity draws on the brand’s
heritage, building a complete visual language,
including icons, photography and a custom
(semi) sans serif typeface that nods to Fisher-
Price’s original logotype.
Everything centres on the iconic red
‘awning,’ with scalloped edges simplified to
three (from four) using its simple geometry
as the basis for an expanded visual language.
The retooled awning also symbolises the
three founders: Herman Fisher, Irving Price
and the unnamed Helen Schelle, as well as
the intersection of parents plus kids.
The logotype was a refined, yet still quirky
version of the original, with a smile as the
hyphen. The awning can be extended or
used as an icon placed on any edge ‘flagging’
something as Fisher-Price. There are also
patterns and illustrations inspired by the
FP Little People.
We focused on making an emotional
connection that captures the fun, silliness
and joy of childhood while appealing to
parents, in a nostalgic yet modern way – not
an easy needle to thread.”WHAT’S THE EXPERT OPINION ON PENTAGRAM’S BRAND IDENTITY
REFRESH OF THE GLOBAL TOY COMPANY FISHER-PRICE?rebrand
CULTURE
“The problem I had reviewing this was that
I couldn’t start: I was too busy enjoying the
animated video of the new identity.
This identity ticks all the boxes. Textbook,
and more. It brings out the child in all of
us. Pentagram have filled the equity pot
to brimming. Tone of voice is a must-read
from, ‘A crayon sandwich for Mom’ to ‘You’ll
understand when you’re younger’. Great to
see copy used powerfully in this category.
Typography is a lesson in learn to love it, and
indeed you do!
No opportunity to brand is missed. A child
soars on a swing with a scalloped edge, a new
strapline has its own neat scalloped tab. The
design team’s enthusiasm is very infectious.
One box yet to tick... Fisher-Price is a
heritage brand built on play and, it has to
be said, plastic. I hope somewhere in this
rebrand there’s stimulus to change this
perception and reality. I’ll bet my last dime
these clever people are on to it right now.”Mary Lewis
Creative director,
Lewis Moberly
lewismoberly.com“It feels like the first task was to update the
identity for a digital world. The new logotype
and monograms do a great job of this. They
feel much tighter without losing any of
the character of the originals. That’s hard
to get right. The ‘smiling’ hyphen is a nice
touch and there’s some lovely motion stuff
going on the brand’s Instagram page. My
only question would be around the circular
and awning monograms. In the initial
applications it looks like they’re sometimes
used interchangeably, but I’m sure there’s an
underlying system.
The rest of the identity system works hard
to express the strategy of putting ‘play back
into playtime’. The bespoke typefaces and
the patterns are full of joy and exuberance
without descending into kiddie cliché – they
retain a design sophistication for the parents.
It’ll be interesting to see how they’re used
in the real world, and how the system works
in an e-commerce environment where there’s
less room for expression. Overall it’s a very
polished refresh that delivers functionally
and emotionally.”Max Ottignon
Co-founder,
Ragged Edge
raggededge.com