From a character on a backpack to a clothing collection with its own identity. Creative Blast translates brands, characters and ideas into products. The process considers not only the artwork, but also the shape, colourways, materials, labels and technical details.
Good merchandise design does more than place an illustration on an object. A product's size, shape and use determine how a character or brand is applied.
The Krokobill backpack shows how imagery, colour and product details form a coherent whole. The design also considers the back, pockets, piping and labels, ensuring a consistent look on every side.
The detailed Bruges illustration takes on a second life as a thousand-piece puzzle. Buildings, characters and small visual jokes form an image full of discoveries to make while puzzling.
Creative Blast also developed the packaging. The illustration, typography, colour panels and details are distributed across the box, giving the product a consistent identity on every side.
With this Krokobill poncho, the child becomes part of the design. The character's body is printed on the poncho and its head appears on the hood. Garment, print and wearer work together.
The production drawing brings together the front and back, hood design and illustration placement. The product visualisation shows how the artwork can work on fabric and around the body.
For Center Parcs' Wonders of Nature, Creative Blast worked on a variety of merchandise and game products. The activity book, board game, chalk packaging and owl soft-toy design share a world of nature and adventure.
Each application calls for its own approach: a clear route on the game board, a distinctive book cover, artwork on folded packaging or multiple views of a plush character. The characters, illustrations and graphic details connect them all.
For Gerard Joling, Creative Blast designed graphics for products including mugs and cushions. Portraits, typography and a recognisable monogram form a visual identity that carries across the range.
The product visualisation shows how material and form bring the artwork to life. Mugs and cushions each have their own treatment within the same distinctive style.
Even a lollipop or sweet bag can strengthen a brand's world. For Monkey Town, Oehlie appears on colourful sweet packaging, adapted to the available space and the shape of each product.
Illustration, logo and composition need to work in more than two dimensions. On a round wrapper or folded cone, the image changes as it wraps around the product. That translation is an essential part of the design.
More sweets and packaging at Funlook ↗
Gerwin Buis's background as a creative director in fashion provides a broad foundation for Creative Blast's clothing design. Silhouette, intended fit, artwork, materials and finishing are developed together.
The design sheets show more than a front view. They include colourways, back views, print techniques, labels and finishing details as a basis for production development.
A collection needs both coherence and variety. For Oneted Girls, shapes, prints, colour combinations and distinctive details come together in a series of clothing designs.
The tiger-print design shows how one style takes on a different look through fabric and print colours. The draped collar, sleeve tabs, pockets and rounded silhouette provide the shared foundation.
In these Royal Chicks designs, illustration becomes part of the garment. The placement of a floral print follows the dress silhouette, while other styles have their own arrangement of materials and colours.
The visualisation alongside the design shows the step from drawing to a three-dimensional garment. It presents the design; it is not a photograph of a manufactured item.
Technical development connects the idea with the next step. Colour codes, print placement, material choices, labels and finishing details communicate how the design is intended to work.
This brings Creative Blast's disciplines together: illustration for the artwork, graphic design for coherence, and product and fashion knowledge for the application.