How To Become A Toy Designer: Advice From The Inside
Within the toy industry, there are a multitude of roles available for aspiring toy lovers. One of these is becoming a toy designer. You might be wondering, Azhelle, how did you do it? How did you become a toy designer? How can I become one?
Becoming a toy designer is a rewarding and fun career for creative individuals who also happen to love toys. Keep on reading to discover the traditional route to getting into toy design, an overview of some of the most important skills a toy designer should possess, and land a job as a toy designer if you don't follow this traditional route.
How To Become A Toy Designer
We've broken down the steps to becoming a toy designer into three to simplify it for you.
Earn a Postsecondary Degree
For those who haven't already gotten their degree, it is definitely something to consider to have a thriving career as a toy designer. By acquiring your postsecondary degree, you automatically have some more of the knowledge required to secure a future as a toy designer. Your degree doesn't necessarily have to be in toy design or toy invention, degrees in related fields can also be beneficial. A degree in finance or business can give you the proper knowledge of how businesses operate and the analyses that go into approving products. On the other hand, a degree in engineering, graphic designing, or the fine arts could prove useful for the actual process of designing your toys. You will have the proper background to be able to create detailed initial designs, produce prototypes with various materials and color schemes, and critique your work as other professionals would. While you are pursuing your degree, it's essential to gain some internship experience in the industry while also developing the skills essential for toy designers.
Gain Experience in The Industry
Internships are a great way to get your foot in the door when it comes to the toy industry. Whether it be in the toy designing field specifically or any other field, getting experience will teach you valuable skills that will allow you to maneuver yourself properly throughout the rest of your career. To learn more about how best to land an internship or job in the toy industry, check out Episode #78: How To Be A Toy Designer of The Toy Coach's podcast by clicking here.
Some of the most important skills, abilities, or even knowledge to pick up while gaining experience in the industry include:
1) Technological Skills: These skills can include having general computer skills such as familiarity with programs a company could use for communication or assignments. It can also be helpful to gain experience using computer-aided design (CAD) software as this can aid in designing your toys and later when you are creating a prototype.
2) Market and Trend Awareness: Before you can begin designing your toys, you must know how to conduct market research. You must be able to go through various trends and fads to discover what it really is that consumers need and the market gaps that currently exist. From there, you have to deduce how you can fill this gap before moving on to designing your product.
3) Design Skills: It is important that while you gain experience in the work field, you refine your design skills. This can include being able to sketch a unique product design with a point of difference that stands out to consumers. Designing skills that aid in this include 3D modeling, knowledge of various patterns and color theory, and various typographies.
4) Manufacturing and Prototyping Knowledge: Familiarity with the manufacturing process, various materials, and the possible limitations or opportunities to your design can prove vital to designing great toys. Having prototyping knowledge will allow you to think large-scale when designing your toys because it can ensure that the designs you create are feasible and cost-effective to manufacture.
If You Already Have Experience In The Toy Industry...
If you have experience in the toy industry, but not in toy design, fret not! You can still land a job as a toy designer by taking your previous knowledge and applying it to your passion. For a step-by-step framework on how you should approach this career switch, check out our blog "10 Essential Tips to Get a Job as a Toy Designer" by clicking here!
Choose Your Niche
Once you have acquired the knowledge and skills required to become a toy designer, you're ready to decide what kind of toy designer you want to be. Just like toys come in many shapes, sizes, and styles, toy designers get to choose what exactly they want to specialize in. There are simple toys which include the use of blocks or puzzles, and more complex toys such as smart toys or various games.
Toys can also be categorized further into the target audiences they are being created for. There are educational toys for younger children and aesthetic collectibles or challenging puzzles for adults and teenagers. By selecting what type of toys you want to design and create, you can develop your skills for that niche even further and become an expert in that specialization.
Once you've done all this, you're prepared to become a fantastic toy designer. For additional knowledge on the toy industry, such as trend analysis, designing toys, the manufacturing process, getting your toys into retail, and more, check out The Toy Coach's Toy Career Takeoff program by clicking here.
Q&A With Azhelle Wade, Founder of The Toy Coach
Q: What is your educational or professional background and how did that help you secure your first job in toy design?
A: I have an AAS degree in Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design, and a BFA degree in Toy Design, both from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. The Toy Design program helped me land my first internship at Madame Alexander and my first full time job at Horizon Group USA. The school I selected and the relationships I built with teachers and colleagues are what helped me succeed in my first full time toy design job. FIT has a very career minded program, so going into the corporate toy world with a business mindset really helped me thrive.
Q: What do you recommend toy designers focus on most when it comes to creating a unique toy?
A: I recommend toy designers try using toy math. Choose two unrelated play patterns or toy categories and ask yourself "what would happen if these two things combined?" If an idea sound crazy at first, it may be just the right thing to shake up the industry.
Q: Do you need to know how to draw to be a toy designer?
A: Knowing how to draw will certainly help you get a job in the toy industry as a designer. The better and faster you can draw, the higher end companies will want you to work for them. But don't worry if you can't draw very well. There are roles in marketing, product development, and even sales in the toy industry. All of those roles are equally important to getting a product on the shelves and most of those roles travel to toy trade shows all year round. You can still get the full experience of working in the toy industry, even if you can't draw at all. When you can't draw, you want to focus on building your communication and organizational skills.
