Design theory is nice, but studying practical application is much more useful! Styles and moods are created using the elements of design, but sometimes it can be difficult to zero in on exactly what you need.
What specifically dictates the look of a style? Knowing or being able to figure out why a design radiates a particular mood will help you either guide a design towards that look or steer it away. I’ve had many times when I’ve done a logo that just looks too childish and at first I can’t pinpoint exactly why. There have been other times when I want a distinctly Renaissance look, but my art elements just don’t quite make it. Let’s take a look at what elements these designs have in common that gives them their juvenile appeal.
Color
The most obvious color choices would be the primary triad: Blue, Yellow and Red. These are common colors that are found in children’s toys, books and games. Bold colors tend to be found in items targeting children, too.
Line
To give something a juvenile look, the lines are generally quite thick (cartoons!), and many times objects will be outlined with a stroke. If imitating the way a young child draws or colors, the lines are also unsteady, uneven and erratic.
Shape
Shapes tend to be very basic and geometric. Remember that young ones are just learning to distinguish these fundamental shapes, so things are purposefully kept simple.
Scale
Young children who are just learning to read need to have letters very clearly distinguished in a layout. You usually find large lettering in books for young ones. Even objects in designs for children are bigger than they might be in a design targeting adults because that’s how they appear in reality to kids.
In terms of perspective, kids perceive their worlds much closer to the ground than adults, so it’s not uncommon for only things 3-4 feet or shorter to appear in a scene. Now that I think about it, even many cartoons will not show anything but the legs of adults on screen. The specific cartoon that comes to my mind is the Roger Rabbit short before Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (I suppose that tells you what demographic I’m from!).
Space
Generally it’s good to have ample space around the object(s) you want to draw a child’s attention to, especially if you’re trying to get them hooked on a specific product (like toys). They are very easily distracted and although a complicated, ornate design like the one above (via doodlage) will hold a child’s attention well, they might miss the point! This style of illustration might be good for something like a child’s book, though, where the point is to entertain them and hold their attention.
Value
Children’s items tend to be very saturated (pure hue) with color; rarely do you see a children’s book with dark, muted values, unless you are reading your children Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events!
Subject is Important Too
Although you might categorize this style as juvenile, I would argue it doesn’t feel as child-like as the above examples. I think the content or subject is just as important as the style. Something about Nate’s style doesn’t quite sit as being classified as child-like to me. What do you think?
Summary
So what does all this come down to? Keep it simple! Pure colors, lots of space (generally), basic shapes, thick strokes. Notice how text is generally blocky and usually angled slightly, too. I think I might argue for sentence case and serif fonts, though, because they tend to be easier for children to recognize. Go grab your favorite children’s book and see if it’s a serif or a sans serif font. I bet it’s a serif.
Still need more ideas for your next kid’s package design? A simple search through sites like Amazon or Toys “R” Us for games or books for kids ages birth through 6 years old will probably turn up just what you need!
Breaking the Rules: The Opposite
Take one of these elements like color or value and do the complete opposite. What happens? It can still be childish, yet perhaps now it has a haunting undertone to it. How is this useful? It could be a successful way to design a public service campaign for children’s safety, or illustrate the bad guy’s entrance in a storybook.
I think what contributes to the ‘lightness’ of all the work you featured today is a sense of whimsy and playfulness. The only exception would be ‘…Unfortunate Events,’ which I would classify more as influenced by grunge.
What’s interesting is the gorgeous illustrations for the book (done by some gent in Utah, I forget the name) do have that child-like style to it, something that wasn’t carried over to the movie posters. A teacher who worked in the movie industry once told me that most clients in that industry much prefer having pictures of big-name stars over concept; it was much more satisfying to design posters for movies whose actors weren’t as well known.
Gio,
Yeah, the whimsy and playfulness observation is exactly right, but how do you acheive that? What does it specifically look like? That was the point of this write up. I don’t know that I detailed everything so if you see something else common between all of these examples (or other kids’ items) do share!
Axiom did all the materials for the movie and they have some stuff in there that I’ve not seen before. They are located in Utah. I really love the end credits animations, too. Those were awesome! I wouldn’t mind seeing a whole movie with that style of animation.
Hm, interesting topic. I’ve always had the dream of trying children’s book illustration someday…
Thanks for reminding me about the Unfortunate Events. Now I remember why I liked the movie!
Otherwise… I always liked the books with many-many meticulously drawn details that you can study for hours. But then again, I was a lonely child :)
RaShell,
I bet your doodles would work wonderfully in children’s books! Let me know when you’re published ;)
This is a really interesting topic and it’s got me thinking, as you’ll see below
I think there can be a distinction made between child-like (or naive) artwork and design which specifically targets children. Your list contains examples of each style. The Cat in the Hat, Toy Story and the Mr Potato Head toy all target small children and they have certain elements in common: simple pallette of primary colours (like you mentioned), and two strong visual elements: large playful type (like you mentioned) and big friendly faces with large eyes. Those things appeal to small kids.
Unfortunate Events also has the face and typography as the stand-out visual features, but this time there is a murkier colour pallette, a photograph (not a drawing) of a slightly sinister face, and a background busy with visual detail. This has been designed for older kids who embrace a darker edge to a story.
The works by Simon Wild and Catalina Estrada have been designed in a naive style, which can (and often does) appeal to children as well. From what I’ve seen of naive art - and I’m no expert - the scene is an idealised one (whether a domestic or fantasy ideal) with lots of visual detail (as opposed to the simplicity of the designs for small children).
The final artwork is a little different again - the scene is not an idealised one and the colour pallette is very subdued. It takes a lot of the elements that you’ve described as belonging to a child-like style, but makes them unfriendly instead of friendly, which is a powerful turnaround. It is reminiscent of 50s (and earlier) retro art.
Tracey,
Ooo, good observations! Thank you for the time you took to share your thoughts! When I was thinking about this post and gathering designs to support my ideas, I was thinking of designs that appeal to children. I was also thinking (as mentioned in the post) how can I steer away from my designs looking “childish”? That’s a comment I get quite often on my logo design and I don’t like it! It’s not what I’m going for, so what makes people say that?
I like how you said everything; I think you put words to ideas in my head that I was struggling to communicate. The photo in Unfortunate Events—brilliant! I think you’re right. And naive being described as “idealized”—perfect.
Great thoughts on that last piece, too. Wow, did you take an art critique course somewhere?
Great article, Lauren. It felt like you were writing about me [grin]. I have always been gifted with the ability to know what works. Don’t ask me to explain it, because I can’t. Of course, this gives me a decided advantage in my chosen field so the aesthetics of the craft are not something I struggle with.
My own drawing style was influenced by the cartoons and comics I gobbled up as a kid. I would say that these artists working in this particular field most likely had the same type of influences growing up, because what we absorb when we are young will be released in one form or another as we get older.
Doug,
It’s good to know why something works though, don’t you think?
I’ve gleaned a lot from reading and personal interest, and of course I see a LOT of designs which are targetted to small children these days
I think it’s true that art history and art critique are areas that really interest me … and obviously you, too!
Tracey,
Do you have any books or other reading that you would recommend on learning more about art/design critique? I read recently that a New York university (can’t remember which) is starting a new Masters program specifically for design critique; apparently it’s an up and coming demand. Pretty interesting!
I found an interesting article relevant to this topic and offer this excerpt from it …
Of course, this is not my cup of tea. It’s a little too deep and constrained for me, but it was an interesting read nonetheless.
Doug,
That was interesting reading. How cool to see the art/design world from the view of an anthropologist! I liked this observation from her:
It is so true, even after you get out of school!
You know, I always appreciate your write-ups about the intricacies of design. Always!
As for the article itself, whenever I think about designing for kids - as I’ve been trying to design something for my daughter’s bedroom for the longest time - I think of the longstanding pillars of child entertainment: Sesame Street, Barney, Spongebob, and Dora. Further shows how spot on your article is. Love it!
Erika,
Oh yes, those are good examples to think about, too! I find it rather facinating how changing a few elements of design, especially color, can create a whole new look and feel for a piece. It’s good to know how to do that!
Thanks for the design info. I always wonder where I can learn about design and you make it easy!
lori gs last blog post..Four Year Old Wisdom #106
Lori,
Classic! Stick around for a bit and you’re sure to learn tons more about graphic design.
Hi! Hehe, I find it hilarious that you comment on this post and your latest post is on Four Year Old Wisdom