Overview
KiwiCo celebrates kids' natural creativity and curiosity while helping parents who want to bring enriching experiences to their children. Through KiwiCo's hands-on DIY products, we believe creative confidence can help kids think BIG and act like creators and producers instead of just consumers.
Role
TL;DR - Graphic Designer
TS;WM - My role involved owning the print design direction of Tinker (engineering focus) and partially Atlas (cultural focus) product subscription lines among the 8 product lines. Among those product lines, I designed product art, crate packaging, and educational collateral (instructions, magazines, etc.) that engage kids with hands-on STEAM learning experiences.
Role
TL;DR - Graphic Designer
TS;WM - My role involved owning the print design direction of Tinker (engineering focus) and partially Atlas (cultural focus) product subscription lines among the 8 product lines. Among those product lines, I designed product art, crate packaging, and educational collateral (instructions, magazines, etc.) that engage kids with hands-on STEAM learning experiences.
Project Type
Print Design, Product Design, Branding
Team
Design Manager - Jenn Wu, Rachel Kim
Print Design, Product Design, Branding
Team
Design Manager - Jenn Wu, Rachel Kim
Editorial Designer - Laura Shields
Product Designers - Harold Russell, Daniel Tompkins, Mason Smith
Photographer: Jane Snyder
Graphic Designer - Joycelyn Wu
Collaborations with many more across Product Design, Editorial Design, Sourcing, and Illustration teams
photos from kiwico.com
The KiwiCo Design Process
(1) I start by chatting with product designers to ideate how to bring their concepts to life with visuals and branding. I also work with sourcing at times to make sure special finishes are still within budget!
(2) After product designers and editorial designers work together to come up with the product-building instructions, I chime into the conversation and work with the illustration team to combine illustrations and copy into an instructional design layout.
(3) Then it's kid testing time! Through user testings, we get insights from kids to see if there are any part of the product or learning process that is confusing or can be improved.
(4) In the meanwhile, I also work with editorial designers to design magazine spreads that teach STEM concepts behind the product design and extra activities that they can do.
(5) Lastly after rounds of iterations, I wrap things up with the crate packaging, viola!
Example of a Tinker product line crate - Spin Art Machine (whoa!)
Project Highlights
Check out some of the launched products that I had fun working on.
Hover Disc in Tinker Crate / Product Designer: Harold Russell / Editorial Designer: Laura Shields / Photographer: Jane Snyder
Fishing Rod in KiwiCo Shop / Product Designer: Mason Smith /
Graphic Designer: Jocelyn Wu / Photographer: Jane Snyder
Graphic Designer: Jocelyn Wu / Photographer: Jane Snyder
Biomimetic Grabber in Tinker Crate / Product Designer: Daniel Tompkins /
Editorial Designer: Laura Shields / Photographer: Jane Snyder
Editorial Designer: Laura Shields / Photographer: Jane Snyder
Tinker Crate STEM Magazines / Illustrators: Huy Hoang, Amy Wong / Editorial Designer: Laura Shields
Hydraulic Walker in Tinker Crate / Product Designer: Harold Russel / Editorial Designer: Laura Shields / Photographer: Jane Snyder
