Role: Design Director
Year: 2024
Agency: Anomaly
Team: Matheus Trevisan, Molly Dyson, Niclas Moos, Alice Labous, Eduardo Bernardo, Stephanie Kolb, Lennart Fleschhut, Lucinda Ng, Mitch Gibbons, Noreen Khan, Andrei Verioti, Barney Fagan tonies®: A world shaped by sound.
After more than a decade of rapid growth, tonies embarked on a much-needed rebrand to coincide with the launch of the new Toniebox - an upgraded, screen-free audio player designed to spark imagination and independent play in children. Rooted in the concept of a world shaped by sound, the refreshed identity captures the magic and immersive experience of audio storytelling. From a refined wordmark and iconic cathead to reimagined brand behaviors and a vibrant yet iconic color palette, every element was crafted to preserve tonies’ brand equity while signaling a bold step into its next phase of global expansion.
The new visual language embraces playful, expressive layouts that reflect the brand’s core mission: to inspire imagination through sound. Every touchpoint - from packaging to digital - supports this sensorial narrative, reinforcing Tonies’ position as a beloved brand for families worldwide while opening the door to new markets and audiences.
As part of the rebrand, we developed a comprehensive new visual identity, restructured the brand architecture, and redesigned the packaging across the entire product line as well as digital experience. A cohesive packaging ecosystem and accompanying guidelines were also created to ensure consistency and scalability.
Logo TransformationThe tonies® wordmark was modernized with rounded edges that echo the Toniebox silhouette, bringing the identity closer to the product itself. The updated proportions and simplified spacing create a softer, huggable look. We also brought the cathead to life: the wiggly ears, the face shifts from curious to giggly, and micro-expressions mirror real kid emotions.
Colour System - Iconic Yet FlexibleWe made the iconic tonies Red famous again and paired it with a warm Canvas White that lets the product and characters breathe. Beyond red, we created a new Tonies Paintbox, which is a flexible palette system designed for mood, product, content categories and navigation. It scales from calm to playful, keeps recognition high while giving teams expressive range for real-world storytelling.
Custom Typeface - WonderThe custom typeface is built to sit tightly with the logo, sharing rounded details and generous curves for a welcoming TOV. Its rhythm is informed by the form of a soundwave. In motion, the type can behave like sound - louder, quieter, playful, or cheeky!
The SoundwavesSound is visualised through a set of soundwave forms that act as a connective tissue across the brand. These soundwaves can amplify product, interact with people, and carry emotion from whisper to crescendo. The system makes audio visible even when the sound is off.
Global Packaging EcosystemFrom the new Toniebox 2 and Tonieplay to pouches for tonies® Originals and licensed Tonies, headphones, and accessories, the packaging has been reimagined to be modern, collectible, and radically legible. It stands out on shelf, explains “what it does” at a glance, and makes exploration, identification, and choice effortless in even the most cluttered retail environments. The result is a coherent family that feels part of the same audio universe while giving each product a clear role in the lineup.
To make this scalable, we built a practical ecosystem guideline that teams can use for any future product line.
The ResultThe refreshed system brings coherence, distinctiveness, and speed to market across regions and partners, transforming tonies from a cherished device into a culture-building entertainment brand where imagination is always on.
tonies before the rebrand