I have an idea for a super fabulous toy that I think would be a lot of fun. I have it all figured out as far as how it would work but can’t get any good ideas for what it should look like. Without me giving away my super fabulous toy idea, does anyone have any advice on what I could do to get my hands on a good design?
I was thinking about posting an ad at the local art school or in the paper, but I have a couple of concerns. One, what if I didn’t like anything the person came up with? And two, I would only want to pay someone once for the design - I wouldn’t want them having any claim to the pazillions I am sure to make with my super fabulous toy.
My best idea so far is to advertise a contest, describing exactly what I am looking for in a design, with a cash prize for the winner.
Revisions are part and parcel of the design industry, make sure that your contract includes specific provisions about the number of revisions should be included in the up-front price (hint: “as many as it takes” is not a number). Also, hire a designer whose work you already like. If you like “cool and edgy,” hire someone who specializes in “cool and edgy;” if you like “juvenile and playful,” hire a designer who specializes in “juvenile and playful.” I would recommend visiting the “Graphic Design” section of your local bookstore and get a sense of the work that is already out there and who is doing what. There is no limit to the styles and abilities out there. Ultimately, the way to assure you get what you want is to know what you want. If there are things you’ve seen that you like, produce those references. If there are things you definitely don’t like, make those known up front. But I would forewarn you not to get hung up on what you like, but to focus on what the market will like. If you truly have a million-dollar idea, you will have already done exhaustive research on who will buy this, what their driving motivators are, what price point this will sell at, which retailers will sell it, what marketing and advertising are required to launch and sustain this great toy.
That’s fine. You just put the terms in writing and specify what the payment is for and include a non-compete clause.
Ah, the ol’ “design contest” route. There’s nothing stopping you from taking this route, but be forewarned that you be getting work from the bottom-feeders of the industry. Maybe that’s the look you’re going for.
I’m the art director of a place that puts out two seasons every year of new product ideas and I’d like to offer a word of advice: if you really want this toy idea to succeed, don’t scrimp in the development. If you don’t til the land, you won’t get the bounty. Garbage in, garbage out.
Quick question: if you were to do a design contest for your toy and open it up to throngs of people you don’t know, what’s to stop these people from just taking your idea and running with it and possibly beating you to market?
Thank you so much for all your advice. I really appreciate your time and insight and you raise a number of good points I will have to really think on.
To answer your last question though, for what I’m looking for I could easily give the details of what I want aesthetically without giving any clue whatsoever to the workings of the toy itself. I literally would just need a drawing of a certain thing.
It may turn out that you may actually want an illustrator, not a graphic designer.
You could try the i spot. They have both stock illustration as well as a portfolio searching tool and the means to contact illustrators directly for commission assignments.
The Workbook has been THE resource in the industry for as long as I can remember, but the artists listed are more likely to be outside your price range.
And though it’s not a resource to link clients with artists, Drawn! is an incredibly interesting illustration blog that anybody can lose hours on.
There are some cached pages of some long-gone posts I retrieved from Google called How to Work with an Illustrator, Parts 1 & 2.
I’m curious-In what way is “I’ve got a great idea for a toy, and I want someone to design it for me.” different from “I have a great idea for a story, and I want someone to write it for me.”?
Well, one way could be to think of it like having someone draw the printed gameboard of Mouse Trap. The printed board is definitely a necessary component, but the separate Rube Goldberg component is really where the game gets fun.
That’s a great example, B. Serum. It was probably a poor choice of words for me to say I wanted someone to design my toy - I really more mean illustrate it. I have the workings of the toy completely figured out, it just needs a “face”.
you could always try Quirky.com. You submit an idea (though it costs money,) and other people (and you) design it, name it, come up with a logo, etc… and then the website sells it, and you get a certain % of the profits based on the amount of your contribution. Obviously, being the creator, you get the largest share, and if you also participate heavily in the other phases you percentage goes up.
You can also just do voting and help with research without ever submitting ideas and get a share of profits from all the products you help out with.
Ity’s not perfect, though. Only relatively simple things can be made, it’s not well-known so it might not sell well, and some things tend to sell for more than what they should.
Having a design student do it may not be a bad idea, but I wouldn’t just place an ad at the local art school or whatever. Why not contact a school that has a top program in 3D design?