Type

Industrial

Role

Creative direction
Character design
Illustration
3D Modeling

Timeframe

8 Weeks
Mar – Apr 2020

Company

Frog Design

Storytellers

Ravensburger planned to launch a new line of smart children’s books in 2021, paired with an external audio device called “The Storyteller.” Targeted at pre-schoolers and early readers, the books provide an immersive audio experience that activates on page flips, letting children listen to the story while following the visual narrative.

00 · Summary

Challenge

A 3-week pitch to create three character concepts for the Ravensburger Storyteller (target age: 3–8). Requirements specified at least one animal character and that any human concepts be agender.

All three concepts undergo user testing with parents and children via the client’s internal research team, with the favorite concept advancing to manufacturing.

Outcome

We won the pitch and secured funding. In just 5 weeks, we finalized the toy design and prepared full manufacturing specifications, turning the winning concept into a tangible product.

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Impact

4.7/ 5

Amazon Germany Rating (305 reviews, Aug 2024)

Top 10/ 2021

Top 10 toys of 2021 recognition by Bundesverband des Spielwaren-Einzelhandels e.V.

Credits

Ricardo Osório Santos

Creative direction, Character design, Illustration, 3D Modeling

Mariano Cucci

3D Modeling

Andrea Besana

Mechanical Engineering

01 · Approach

Narrative first

Once upon a time there were three masters known as The Storytellers. They were known and respected for being the wisest storytellers that ever lived. Their passion for reading and discovering new stories was such, that they travelled all over the world searching for new ones. Some people believe they’re still around; that every time a book is opened, children are hearing their voices through the telling of stories.

02 · Process

Character Development

Following Ravensburger’s brief and minimal, modern art direction, I've explored dozens of sketches to find friendly, relatable forms. Milo (the polar bear), Kit (the friendly monster), and Ray (adventurer with dragon Maya) emerged as our main candidates. User tests confirmed Milo as the most beloved by children and parents.

Character studies pinned to a studio wall, pencil roughs beside coloured drawings of bears, raccoons, monsters and hamsters

Sketches and illustrations

I’ve spent a couple of days trying to understand what shape these storytellers could take. Do they have an animal form? Are they amazing creatures? How can they look friendly and cuddly? What is the relationship with reading, with books? How do children react and relate to them?

Twenty-two blue pencil character studies in a grid, covering bears, raccoons, an octopus, a pig and assorted monsters, most of them reading

Coloured character explorations, the polar bear in yellow boots, the striped monster and the whale-riding figure all appearing in early form

The Milo model sitting on a stack of picture books beside Die goldene Funkelblume, wearing a yellow cap and teal scarf and holding a lamp

Pitch illustration of Milo the polar bear reading by torchlight at night, in a yellow cap and boots against a starry arctic sky

Ten pitch sketches of Milo: carrying a stack of books, building a wall out of them, fishing through the ice and dozing on his back

Meet Milo, the polar bear

Milo likes to read in the dark. He carries a small flashlight, which he turns on every time he reads a story. He is a cuddly polar bear who loves to wear his boots and splash in puddles.

A child holding the Milo prototype in both hands, the polar bear in its yellow cap and knitted teal scarf

The Milo prototype standing at the top of an open dinosaur book while a child reads the spread

The Kit prototype, a pale blue antlered monster in a red-striped vest, perched on the edge of an open picture book

Meet Kit, the friendly monster

Kit has been a Storyteller since he was a cub — a magical creature with oversized hands made for holding books bigger than himself. When he’s not reading, he loves wearing his favorite stripy jumper.

Pitch illustration of Kit the friendly monster waving from a violet forest, antlers up and red-striped vest on

Nine pitch sketches of Kit reading: sprawled on the ground, perched on a book stack, swinging from a shelf and leaning against a tree

The Kit model sitting on a stack of children's books beside a yellow plant pot and two Lego bricks

A child holding an open book with the Kit prototype sitting in the gutter of the spread

The Ray prototype, a small figure in a striped headband, riding a turquoise dragon beside an open book

Meet Ray and his dragon, Maya

Ray has a never-ending appetite for adventure stories and is never seen without his dragon, Maya. Having gathered tales from the clouds and stars, he loves to tell them to children at bedtime.

Pitch illustration of Ray riding Maya the dragon through pale clouds, Ray in a striped headband and Maya grinning below

Eight pitch sketches of Ray and Maya: flying together, sheltering from rain, carrying a tower of books and dozing on a hillside

The Maya prototype sitting in the gutter of an open picture book, seen from above on a wooden table

The Ray and Maya model on a stack of picture books beside Die goldene Funkelblume

Final concepts

Milo, Kit, and Ray were the three conceptual characters we've presented to the client at the conclusion of the pitch phase.

The three finished pitch models side by side: Milo the polar bear, Kit the monster, and Ray riding Maya

03 · Development

Prototyping & Production

We addressed technical challenges including the clamping system and camera positioning. Solutions included a mug for hiding the camera and an iceberg-shaped clamp. Color selection was limited to 2–3 tones; Milo received a soft, cozy knitted scarf as an accessory.

Eight render variants of the Milo figure, each holding a different object: a book, a lamp, binoculars, a bottle, a camera and a mug

A white 3D-printed Milo clamped to the edge of an open book, testing how the device grips the page

A finger pressing the back of a white 3D-printed Milo beside an open book, testing the speaker placement

Colour selection

With the limitation of 2 to 3 colours for the character, picking the right colour combination was not an easy task. Milo was a polar bear from the cold north, but it also needed to be approachable and warm.

Pantone chip books fanned out across a desk, comparing cool greys, yellow and green-grey for the final colourway

A knitted scarf for Milo

Since I couldn’t change Milo’s material, I wanted to add something warm and soft to make him feel less artificial. A knitted scarf felt perfect — cosy, natural, and able to hide screws or seams. The challenge was finding the right fabric.

Hands knitting a navy scarf in fine yarn beside the painted Milo model on its turquoise base

04 · Final delivery

Reception & Reviews

The final delivery included the design specifications for the toy with CMF, the CAD model for the mechanical concept, and final product renderings.

The finished Sami Lesebar figure: a polar bear in a yellow cap, navy scarf and yellow boots, holding a blue mug on a pale blue ice base

The finished figure seen from behind, the speaker grille in its back and the headphone and micro USB ports in the base

The finished figure from three angles, front, three-quarter and side, showing the speaker grille and the base's page clamp

A child lying on the floor reading a picture book with the Sami Lesebar perched on the far page

The Sami Lesebar sitting behind an open picture book, a jungle spread with a snake curled into a letter A

A child holding out a book with the Sami Lesebar clipped to its top edge

05 · Customer feedback

Mir als Mutter hat besonders gut gefallen, dass die schöne, liebevolle Geschichte ganz ruhig und mit unaufgeregter, sehr angenehmer Stimme vorgelesen wurde und Julius sich dabei in seinem Tempo das Buch mit den Bildern dazu anschauen konnte.
—
Tamara H.
Mother of a 5 year-old