JoyRide - Hot wheels rebrand

SPRING 2020

Brand Identity & Packaging

The goal of this project was to rebrand and repackage the iconic Hot Wheels toys. To begin, I researched currently underserved markets and aimed to make the packaging more conducive to those groups. In my research, I discovered that while they are a toy intended to be enjoyed by children, the main consumer of Hot Wheels toys is actually collectors who own anywhere from dozens to thousands of the $1 die-cast metal cars. The current packaging has a cardboard card attached to the back that makes it impossible to stand on its own and extremely difficult to store while keeping the packaging in pristine condition. This forces dedicated collectors to come up with their own storage solutions that often lead to the production of even more unnecessary plastic. I decided to shift the target demographic to collectors, specifically new collectors, and make the cars easier to collect, stack, and store. To do this, I reduced the packaging to a simple rectangular box which allows the toys to be stored virtually anywhere and fit together seamlessly. In addition to opening up the brand to new collectors, I wanted to make the toys less gendered and welcoming to anyone, regardless of age, background, or lifestyle. I achieved this by simplifying my color palette to bright variants of the three primary colors.

Another goal of this project was to make the packaging more sustainable by only using paper or paper products. Currently, Hot Wheels use a form-fitted translucent plastic to contain the car, allowing the consumer to see what they are buying. Since I was limited to only paper products, I solved this problem using vellum as the exterior sleeve allowing the shape of the car to still be seen. All of my branding is printed directly on the sleeve in black ink, making the sleek, minimal logo stand out against the flat, cloudy vellum. I was able to incorporate the colors of my brand in the paper that I used to make the interior box. This color can change depending on the car being packaged. Overall, the color palette combined with the logo evoke feelings of classic cars, long drives, and good times which is everything that JoyRide embodies.