Mickey and Minnie Hot Rods

A while back the folks at Kid Trax were working on a 6V ride-on quad for Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  They sought to create something beyond a standard children's ride-on, something clearly reflecting a classic Mickey aesthetic and not something adapted from generic design, like a lunch box with a sticker.  I was called in by the creatives at Disney Consumer Products to help them from the ground up in creating the look.   

Right from the start I was leaning toward a retro feel,  taking cues from the 1950s coupes and souped up 40s models. Something that echoed the era of classic core Disney characters. .. Still, it wasn't a car in which to sit but a straddle rider, so the overall configuration would still resemble a typical modern quad.  It offered some aesthetic challenges in exploring a range of looks from which to choose.

Here are the initial rough sketches of some possibilities I came up with. The perennial Mickey ears are already apparent in the design, the 'gears' motif intentionally tying into the 'Mickey's Clubhouse' show aesthetic, a very popular Disney show at the time;

They did like the old hot rod coupe look, leaning toward C and D the most, C being the final choice.
The next step was to tighten it up and create the Minnie version.
.. Ending up with this;

In this post-modern era of 26" rims and thin rubber, I found myself reveling in the notion of big fat white-walls and chrome hubs.
Decidedly old school.


.. This is another one of those cool projects where the final product ended up looking virtually identical to my work (Well done, Kid Trax!).  Again, it's uncommon, as often so many hands are involved in creating and producing toys,  so it's very satisfying and I take it as a complement. On a more practical and professional level I view these as an example of design efficacy and good communication.
Hopefully my colleagues and contacts see it as another good reason to call on me.