Munchkin

Diana Barnes began her career at Munchkin in 2014. She oversees global brand partnerships and manages the public relations, social media and brand design teams worldwide. Under her leadership, Munchkin’s brand design team has won over 80 top international design awards for 360 works. A passionate advocate for trees, animals, and the environment, she created and leads all Munchkin CSR initiatives such as partnerships with The Whale Sanctuary Project, Trees for the Future and IFAW (The International Fund for Animal Welfare) and Radiant Colors. Before joining Munchkin, she served as the Global Director of Brand Design for Dell Inc. In this key role, she led global teams in Austin, India, China and Japan. Prior to that, her career began in the music and entertainment industry, where she held executive creative positions at Sony and EMI, as well as several global advertising agencies.

Interview with Munchkin

Red Dot: Why did you become a designer?
Munchkin: To fully realise and extend my passion for language. I love the written word and wanted to experiment with typography to support it in creative ways.

What makes your work unique?
The copy, typography, and sustainability of the packaging.

Which three adjectives best describe your award-winning project?
Engaging. Educational. Fun.

Was your award-winning work inspired by current social issues?
Animal welfare is the founding pillar of our CSR efforts, so we are always inspired to design for this critical initiative.

Please describe the concept of creativity against the background of your award-winning work.
Each animal in the collection was designed to be as realistic as possible (rather than looking like a cute cartoon character) in order to complete the educational efforts which are set forth in our wholistic concept. The copy (each animal describes its life in its environment and its family, etc.) was written by each animal in the collection to each child to personalise their experience with them and, in turn, our brand. Our letter to the parents on how to get involved in the important work of saving these endangered animals via IFAW (such as the pangolin, the snow leopard, among others) was a powerful CTA that has been very successful. The packaging was designed to have a second life – to be used as a toy afterwards.