In an effort for Mattel to appeal to a wider audience, we created a vintage-based, adult-directed style guide focusing on apparel and car culture. Our work included a branding and packaging style guide and lots of graphic designs.
Our research included the Peterson Automotive Museum and vintage shops on Melrose Ave in LA. We then headed to a custom car show in South Jersey, where we immersed ourselves in further research, taking a ton of pictures. This made us realize the target market wasn’t defined by a particular age group, as people of all ages love car culture.
We created two groups of theme art, focusing 50s Hot Rods as well as 60s and 70s Muscle Cars. The whole style guide was packaged in a custom die cut binder cover that featured an image of a muscle car’s hood. Of course, when you opened the guide, there was an image of an engine inside. We even found someone who let us take the hood off his car to get the shot. It’s always satisfying when a client loves our work.
