I've been thinking lately about products for kids and the art used on and in them. This is only natural since my career is now squarely focused on art licensing. Art for the the younger set figures prominently in my work, so companies who use it are a huge study market for me.
Earlier this year, we PBJ's decided to broaden our subject matter to include art licensing (as well as other children's illustration interests as they might arise). Since then, me and other PBJ's have blogged about things other than children's books (
mobile apps, for instance), but I'm not sure I have ever done a dedicated blog post specifically on art licensing interests.
Since there are so many cool companies using children's art, I thought, why not do a series of posts on them?
I'm going to start off with a biggie. Why not?
EEBOO
Eeboo is one of those dream companies for a children's illustrator (or for a past children's illustrator who is now an art licensor specializing in the children's market, like me). They make responsible, intelligent games, toys and products for children and all ages, and they use some stellar art to do it. In fact, they often use the art of established children's illustrators (
Melissa Sweet, for instance).
Overall, the Eeboo aesthetic is finely crafted. The first sense you get from their visual identity is a cozy, warm and home-spun feeling— art is mostly in the classic fairy tale style, with a smattering of other more contemporary styles mixed in. Dig in a little deeper, and take note of the careful attention to detail, original ideas, and phenomenal design that goes into everything they do.
One of the things I love most about Eeboo is the fact that nothing they put out is not, on some level, innovating. I consider Eeboo "trend forward"—they may have their feet planted firmly in children's art genre, yet they're among the first companies you might notice using a fresh, new visual in either style of art or style of design. For all the classic fairy-tale feel, they take risks. In this day and age, and with dollars on the line, that's more than commendable.
I also like that much of Eeboo's art has a level of sophistication or complexity that is not widely seen on products for the children's markets. This uncommon trait for children's product art is exactly the type of art that truly inspired me when I was a young child. Eeboo does not 'dumb it down'. That is a revelation, and, in my opinion, it's also kind of a public service, because this type of art can really open and broaden very young minds. The power to visually engage, inspire and educate is clearly very important to folks at Eeboo. They do not take that power lightly, and they use it both responsibly and bravely.
Cheers to Eeboo for giving us such a colorful, fun, confetti-filled party package of fun, innovation, smarts AND respect for the end consumer in their children's products.
