"I love the fact that anytime I'm given a project I can regress into my childhood."

Take a minute to think about your most treasured childhood possessions. After running through a few unforgettable presents, there's probably one favorite toy that sticks out in your mind—something that made you jump out of your skin with excitement as you ripped open the box. Whether it was an Etch A Sketch, a Cabbage Patch Kid or something else entirely, those lasting memories stem from a strong emotional connection.

And when you're on deadline with marketing materials for a buttoned-up corporation, those fond recollections just might turn into daydreams about a job in toy and game design. Lucky for you the task of filling up children's toy boxes is big business. According to the Toy Industry Association, the sale of traditional toys in 2005 totaled more than $21 billion. Here five designers offer a glimpse into work life at everywhere from Cranium to Crayola.

Cranium: Using Their Heads
As part of the small design department at Cranium, graphic designer Shannon Levin stays inspired by playing. "I love the fact that anytime I'm given a project I can regress into my childhood," she says. Her desk, like many others at the Seattle company, serves as display space for small toys—everything from a rubber ducky decked with devil horns to little Japanese figurines. Cranium employees also gather for game hours, where they might play the company's namesake board game, try out something under development or even spend a little time with a competitor's creation.

Levin works on a four-person team, which includes three designers and a creative director. This group designs everything from the look and feel of the Cranium brand to board-game components and the company's three-dimensional toys. For themed versions of Cranium's Super Fort—where kids use flexible foam tubes and fabric panels to create their own hideaways—Levin and her co-workers brainstormed about what touchstone animals should go on the panels. They also worked with an illustrator to make the wildlife come alive without being too aggressive for kids.

But no matter what the project, one overarching goal remains the same: There should be a moment where everyone gets to shine. Playability, fun, quality and connectedness all factor into Cranium's products. One challenge, Levin says, are making sure the rules for a given product are clear, concise and easy to read. The design team collaborates with other departments to make sure there aren't unnecessary barriers to playing a game once a family takes it out of the box.

So how does Levin's job stack up to agency work? "One of the biggest differences is that you're working on a brand in-house that you believe in," she says. "We're all very personally invested in the products. When you have a day that's a little crazy, you go home and realize you're doing this so people can have fun."

Hasbro: Connecting the Dots
An 18-year Hasbro veteran, Matt Mattus has worked in creative roles ranging from package design to concept development at this Pawtucket, RI, toy giant. Of late, he worked as part of a future-thinking team charged with figuring out what's going to be hot in two or three years. He's also worked to find new ways to expand the company's existing products and brands, which includes such childhood favorites as Monopoly and Mr. Potato Head.

Recently, for example, Mattus worked on the design for a live My Little Pony stage show. He was also involved with the brand's 2000 re-launch, creating the style guide for the updated version of these toys. It meant defining everything from the brand's color palette to patterns—all for one of the toughest crowds at retail. "Children are probably the most emotional consumer there is," he says. "They either love it or hate it. There's no faking it."

This means Mattus needs to rely on something more substantial than walking on the beach for inspiration. "You're pulling from your own life," he says. "You're always absorbing. You're collecting culture." A few days before talking with HOW, for instance, Mattus' job took him to the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and it's this kind of constant exploration that helps him make connections and predict styles and trends.

Mattus believes creating a design people will respond to globally means doing your homework rather than relying on personal taste. "We need to respond to logical influences not random ones," he says. "I collect conscious design." He might notice a common thread, for instance, between a hot contemporary artist in Holland a pattern in a hotel lobby. It's a far more reliable process than choosing a color palette or font just because it looks cool.

Wild Planet: Knowing Kids' Nature
To make sure her designs are on target, Sarah Heckles' creations go up against a pint-sized audience (along with moms) during package validation. Kids peruse a mini-store with anywhere from eight to 15 toy packages, so designers can get a sense for what captures young people's attention. These sessions also make sure kids clearly understand what each toy does. A pair of spy glasses within Wild Planet's Spy Gear line, for example, was originally referred to as "specs," but kids didn't know what that word meant.

These kinds of discoveries help inform Heckles work as an art director. She spends much of her time on product packaging, but she also creates the look and feel of new brands launched by her San Francisco employer. Right now she works on the Spy Gear line, which includes toys ranging from night-vision goggles to walkie talkies, as well as a new girl's toy brand set to launch in the fall.

While another department primarily handles toy design, Heckles is still responsible for figuring out branding guidelines for new lines. She'll put together a mood board with colors, patterns, type and even photographs that reflect what kind of child might play with the toys. It's also her job to design a logo that will jump off the package. "I have to go full steam ahead while the product is being developed," she says. "I might not see the final product until the package is done." Though she's likely seen a prototype.

Heckles says there are a lot of similarities between package design for kids and adults, but there are things to keep in mind for the younger crowd. Kids, for instance, aspire to be older. So while the Spy Gear line is targeted to children six and up, she wouldn't put a picture of six or seven year old on the package. Instead she'd play to her audience with a photo of a boy who's nine or 10.

Crayola: Drawing on Creativity
While the word Crayola is nearly synonymous with crayon, there's more to this household name than the coveted 64-pack with built-in sharpener. This Easton, Pennsylvania, company produces everything from outdoor toys to markers, pencils and flash cards. And it's up to Chuck Kijak's creative services department—nearly 30 people strong—to handle all the package designs, merchandising and content illustration. "We're all about creativity," he says. "We're all about exploding children's imaginations."

Like any business, however, there's still the need to turn a profit, so all those packages need to work hard on the shelf. In Crayola's outdoor line, for instance, there might be 15 products, so the boxes and buckets need to reflect the appropriate price/value relationships. "If I have $10 in my pocket, and I have to buy a birthday present for a party my son is going to, sometimes the size of the box determines the value of the product," Kijak says. This means the $9.99 toy needs to seem more substantial than the $5.99 option.

There's also a big movement within Crayola to create more Earth-friendly packaging. The company wants to eliminate plastic packaging with phthalates—chemicals that can be harmful to the environment. Designers are also looking for ways to create packaging that's reusable or recyclable. Markers or pencils, for instance, might come in vessels kids could use for storage.

Kijack's job also comes with industry specific challenges. "The trend is that kids are dropping toys earlier than they used to," he says. "When I was young, I didn't have computers so playing with a certain toy didn't bore me. I think it's really essential for designs in this industry to stay on trend." Safety is also a big concern for children's items. All Crayola products are non-toxic, and the company keeps close watch to avoid choking hazards and other potential dangers.

Upper Deck: Holding All the Cards
As the creative manager of Upper Deck's entertainment group, David Lomeli spends a lot of time trying to make a big impact within small spaces. His eight-person team creates the graphic design for popular trading card games ranging from World of WarCraft to Pirates of the Carribean. They're also responsible for the advertising, packaging and branding for all the entertainment group's products, which includes collectibles as well as cards.

Those trading cards—or frames as the designers call them—present a special design challenge because they might be only 2.5-inches wide. "You have to utilize all the real estate and make it look attractive and engaging," Lomeli says. "It has to instantly communicate when the card lands on the table." The cards need to hold vital game play elements, artwork and even legal information. Sometimes designers run the latter in type as small as three points to save valuable space.

With the World of WarCraft cards, for example, the design team did such a good job balancing all these elements that the artwork runs larger than almost any other trading card on the market. Since the cards feature original illustrations, the art tends to be a big draw among gamers. Lomeli's design team also taps into special printing techniques to grab attention. They'll utilize everything from coatings and foils to five- or eight-color print jobs.

But Upper Deck creatives need to master more than the space constraints of card design. "I think what's nice about this job is that everything we do is different," he says. "There's always something new to develop." His team has designed everything from trade-show booth graphics to t-shirts. A package design for a collectible bust even challenged them to create a box roughly 2 feet tall by 2 feet wide—just about the opposite of a tiny World of WarCraft card.

The Toy-Maker
In Terri Osborne's Cincinnati design studio, you'll find the requisite computer equipment sharing space with sewing machines and stockpiles of fabric. They're all the tools and supplies she needs to build prototypes for future toys. As a freelance toy designer, Osborne makes product ideas come alive in three-dimensions and creates the patterns that allow these newborns to be manufactured in large quantities.

Osborne studied fashion design in college then spent 12 years working for Kenner in girls' toys product development. There she had a hand in everything from the original Care Bears line to Baby Alive. Since striking out on her own in 1992, she's done designs for most major toy companies. Her recent projects include the popular Doodle Bears, where she worked on the shape of the toys as well as their fabric prints.

When a client hands Osborne a plush-toy assignment, she'll start the project by sketching out her ideas. From there she begins building rough prototypes while simultaneously developing the pattern—not unlike those sewing patterns at the fabric store. Osborne might go through several rough versions of a toy before she lands on a final prototype and pattern. "It's critical that your pattern be accurate and specific," she says. Since most plush toys are filled with stuffing, they rely on the pattern to give them form and shape rather than any underlying framework.

Osborne's design work, however, includes dolls as well as these softer toys. If she's creating a fashion doll, Osborne completes an illustration then turns it over to a sculptor to create a model. She'll also sew the outfit for the doll and work with the sculptor on the hair and face.

Sounds like the next best thing to Santa's workshop.