Nestled right there in the middle of Old Towne Orange, California is a new toy store, called Tiddlywinks Toys and Games. The premise of the store is to create a niche market of unique and nostalgic toys that appeal to parents, grandparents, and most importantly, kids. Every piece of inventory is carefully selected to have something special that kids and families can enjoy – and there are no electronics. Their aim was not to try and compete with the big box stores like Target or Toys-R-Us, but create a place that has a nice sense of community, with monthly events and story times. Something those big stores just can’t do.

After the logo design was settled on, we continued on everything from simple promotional items like buttons, balloons and temporary tattoos, to social media presence, email blasts, the website, storefront graphics and exterior signage. I even had the opportunity to illustrate a mural that went around the perimeter of the store.

One of the cooler experiences of the project was trying a new type of display printing that prints hi-resolution artwork right on a wood substrate. The client located a vendor that has a large format inkjet printer that can print on all sorts of wood and MDF materials. That’s how the distressed shingle sign, sandwich board and wrap panels were produced. Even the interior mural was printed using this new technology. It definitely turned out cool, and I hope to use that type of substrate again sometime soon.

 

Heck, the wood slats concept turned out so good, it became a visual theme throughout the identity design, going on the website, Twitter page and email template.