Why Manufacturing Experience Matters in Deal Toy Design

By John Hathaway

When you’re reviewing a deal toy design, you’re usually looking at the artwork. Does it look right? Does it represent the deal? Will the people receiving it like it?

Those are the right questions. They’re also the questions I spent most of my time thinking about when I started designing deal toys in 1997. My background was in print and exhibit design, so I came to the work with a strong interest in typography, color, shape and composition.

As I saw more of my designs produced, I started paying closer attention to construction. But spending time in a Lucite factory changed my understanding of the work much more than looking at finished pieces ever could.

Learning what the artwork asks of the factory

The company I worked for back then bought an established Lucite factory, and I became the contact between our company and the factory. I spent time in the production department, in the casting room and on the factory floor, learning the process from start to finish. I was fortunate to have that access.

Until then, much of my attention had been on turning the client’s idea into a design. Working with the people making it helped me understand how much went into it - how many decisions remained - after the artwork was approved.

Casting and finishing affected the result. So did the way the piece was constructed and how its different elements came together. Understanding those steps changed what I considered while designing and the questions I asked before sending work into production.

That matters to a client because a design needs to hold up through the whole process. The qualities that made it worth choosing need to be there in the finished piece.

Different materials require different thinking

Over time, I learned more about other deal toy media, like metal, resin, crystal and wood - and the various techniques involved in working with each medium. Learning about each process expanded what I could do, and each gave me more to learn.

Even printing behaves differently depending on the surface. You can’t assume that something you’ve done successfully in one material will translate directly to another.

That knowledge helps when deciding how to approach a project. A particular shape or effect might suggest one material, while the quantity, budget or deadline makes another approach worth considering. These decisions affect one another, so I want to think about them while the design is developing.

It also helps me explain a recommendation. If I suggest changing a material or adjusting part of a design, I should be able to tell the client why and what that change will mean for the piece.

Keeping the achievement in view

There’s another kind of understanding that matters just as much.

Over the years, I learned about the deals themselves. Just the basics, but enough to get a better sense of what we were commemorating and what would be appropriate. A detail that looks incidental to someone outside the transaction may be important to the people involved.

Something can get lost at each stage: from the client’s initial idea to the artwork, and from the artwork to production. Part of my job is to keep track of what matters throughout those stages.

A custom deal toy is being made for a specific achievement. The finished piece should still feel connected to that achievement and to the people who made it happen.

Making the process easier for the client

Our clients have already done the hard work of the deal. They’ve put their expertise to use. Now I want to put mine to work and make this part easier.

They shouldn’t need to learn the differences between casting methods or understand every production detail to order a good piece. They do need clear recommendations, an explanation of the choices that affect them and someone paying attention as the job moves forward.

I still care about the fonts, colors, shapes and proportions as much as I did when I started. Manufacturing experience gives me more ways to make those decisions work in the finished object. For the client, that should mean a piece they’re proud to give and a process they feel comfortable going through again.