Project
Metal toys for the 21st century
Client
Kovap
www.kovap.cz
Year
2019
Hidden history of Kovap
In the middle of the Czech forests you will find a hidden toy factory. This factory makes the iconic Kovap metal toys for nearly 100 years and is one of the core brands in metal toys all over the world.
A contemporary view
Their most iconic toys are mechanical tractors, which are made according the traditional ways of toy making and with the most care skilled craftsmen and women.
In order to update their most iconic toy we aimed to match these skills and technologies with designs and experiences that trigger the current youth.
The result is a fusion of old new technologies and a toy platform to be desirable for boys as well as girls from the age 1 to …
Designing a platform to play that speaks to girls as well as boys
Research
Analyzing the gameplay of boys and girls from the age of 3 to 7 was the key to develop these farm toys.
Learning on how differently boys and girls are playing, how different toys trigger different gameplay and how toys are chosen where base for the new development.
The honest audience
As any good design comes to evaluating and refining, we tested different toy designs with different ages. The honesty and unbiased behaviour of our audience made us learn a few quick lessons in toy design. The different approach by boys and girls, but also the time span in which we should offer a quality experience where the base for our new toys.
By learning from our very young audience we distilled the first designs and eventually came to the first set of tractor and two characters, of a farmer and his dog.
