Obsolete Pete

Nostalgia, Retrovation and Vintage Play as the Starting Point for Character Toy Design

Authors

• Katriina Heljakka Turun yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33355/tw.86774

Keywords:

character toys, toy design, vintage play, nostalgia, retrovation, product development

Abstract

This review discusses history-driven toy design, which centers around the concepts of nostalgia, retrovation and vintage play. By focusing on playful design management, the review brings to the fore the centrality of nostalgic relations to technology and an area of object play – vintage play. The review demonstrates how a contemporary toy named Obsolete Pete draws design inspiration from instruments and aesthetics of the past and presents how processes for designing character toys may besides current trends, be initiated by employing material-based retrovation and obsolete, analogue technology as a point of entry when designing new character toys.