Oba Toys
Project Management & Brand Identity | Winter/Spring 2024
Objective + Concept
Oba Toys is a toy shop concept that would be located in the Woodstock neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. Oba is the maiden name of owner Kris’ mother, Kiyo. Oba Toys is reminiscent of the toy shops that Kris visited as a kid as well as the shops he frequented when his children were little. In addition to being a toy shop, Oba Toys has a maker space included that holds workshops and inspires people to create.
The owners of Oba Toys reached wanting a full brand package that would reflect the importance of creativity and problem solving for people of all ages but especially for children. My team worked Oba Toys to design a youthful and fun visual identity including a logo, signage, and stationary as well as packaging designs so the shop can provide branded gift wrapping services.
Process
I worked alongside Teresa Aguilera to design a logo focused on whimsy and culture. One of the key visual elements that owners, Kris and Peggy, wanted to incorporate was the koinobori, or carp shaped streamers, used to celebrate Children's Day in Japan. We went through several rounds of revisions with the clients before landing on this carp that resembles the koinobori best.
An important visual element that the client wanted to capture was highlighting the childlike aspect of trial and error. Since Oba Toys is not just a toy shop but also a maker space, the imperfections of a doodle were something that we embraced. This mimicked the imperfect nature of making and the importance of working through those inbetween steps instead of feeling defeated.
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Significance
The Oba Toys brand design was a long collaborative effort primarily between myself and Teresa Aguilera with clients Kris and Peggy. My main contributions included the color and typeface choices, the logo design and iterations, the stationary mockups, and creating screen printed t-shirts to bring the brand to life.