Big W
Big W Tinkers Toys
Packaging Toys
Australia
Branding, packaging & guidelines
Tinkers is exclusive to Big W, with products ranging across many different categories. Originally launched in 2010, Big W wanted to re-brand their ‘own brand’ of toys (aimed at ages 0-3) as it was losing traction against competitor brands. The intent was to re-establish the value of the Tinkers brand in this competitive market, inspire fun, promise satisfaction and ultimately resonate with parents and grandparents who would be the likely purchasers.
The task was to redevelop the Tinkers brand, including logo creation, colour scheme, packaging design, layout and messaging hierarchy. This was then followed by the output of a comprehensive style guide to enable consistent production of packaging by a variety of offshore suppliers. The brand and packaging needed to work across multiple categories, including; outdoor, plush, preschool, bath, baby, trucks, wooden and imaginative play.
The new logo communicates clear ‘play signals’ to children. It also features a graphic exclamation mark, a reversed ‘i’, which alludes to excitement without detracting from the overall integrity and readability of the name. The exclamation mark was also used as a graphic device to bring attention to features and benefits, value proposition and product information. Each colour from the logo is used with custom illustrated backgrounds to distinguish between different categories.
The overall refresh added energy, liveliness and a uniform visual look which strengthened the Tinkers brand and conveyed its values. The new packaging design ensured that products stood out on shelf and effectively communicated information that is key in the purchasing decision. Following the creation of the new brand and packaging, an extensive style guide was created. It’s to be used by the variety of producers who roll-out the line extensions in each category. As much of this is carried out offshore, it was important that the style guide was comprehensive, detailed and easy to follow.
Since launching in 2016, the project has proven successful with the full range looking great and being well received by consumers. You can check them out for yourself in Big W stores across Australia now!
