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Toy Inventor/Product Design/Graphic Design/Illustration
Emily Finegold
Hatboro, PA
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About
Creative Senior Product Designer with 15 years of toy design experience for companies dedicated to serving children between the ages of 0-15 across a broad range of products, including Crayola’s My First Markers to CSI Science kits.
SUMMARY OF STRENGTHS AND QUALIFICATIONS
▪ Innovative and Creative Thinking ▪ Illustration and Rendering ▪ Consumer Awareness
▪ Strong Time and Project Management ▪ Excellent Product Development ▪ Team Player
▪ Trend Analysis & Competitive Research ▪ Superb Communication Skills ▪ Loves to play with toys
▪ Sourcing and Negotiation. ▪ Crafting and Model Making ▪ Margin and Cost analysis
My goals are to continue to grow as a designer, art director and illustrator. I want to keep making the best products for children. Toys and books that make them smile, develop, learn, bring out their creativity and spark their imaginations.
and ...deep down, honestly, I really want to be a muppet on Sesame Street.
Specialties
Toy Design, Graphic design, Illustration, Character design, Brainstorming, Running NYC marathons -
Education
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BFA Toy DesignFashion Institute of NYC2004 - 2006
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BID Industrial DesignPratt Institute1998 - 2002
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Experience
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CEO/Toy DesignerHatboro, PASep 2012 - Present (13 years 9 months)• Served numerous clients, working on brands that included Barbie, Monster High, Hot Wheels,
Crayola, Wiggles, Nerf, TMNT, and Smurfs. Designed products across a broad range of
categories, drafting new ideas for product line extensions, providing ideation sketches and
graphics for packaging, and developing control drawings.
• Launched own product, called My First Socktopus. Won Intuit Quickbooks’ Small Business Local Buzz award. -
FreelancerPD THINK DESIGNPAJan 2012 - Present (14 years 5 months)• Worked with clients Church and Dwight, Mondelez, and Merck.
• Researched and designed health and wellness products currently on shelves. Top selling product in category for the past two years running.
• Facilitated corporate brainstorms with over 20 attendees including company CEO. -
Creative Director- Design and IllustrationInHerquestsAug 2017 - Feb 2020 (2 years 6 months)• Managed development of all design and illustration.
• Created all original characters and style guides for entire product line.
• Illustrated children’s books, comic books and game components for all subscription boxes.
• Cost analysis of all printed components for each subscription box.
• Presented/pitched product to different toy companies at Toy Fair.
• Managed all print production and sourcing of components, guides and books.
• Found vendors and worked with them overseas on model development.
• Designed all packaging and trade show signage. -
Senior Product DesignerHatfield, PAApr 2016 - Jul 2017 (1 year 3 months)• Managed development of Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs and Kid K’nex Education sets.
• Worked with Hasbro licensing on My Little Pony Tinker Toys creating new pony designs and
building sets.
• Developed and costed building sets and created new builds for core K’nex.
• Presented concepts to upper management.
• Worked with cross-functional teams including graphics, engineering and sales. -
Senior Product Developer /Product ManagerWarren, NJJan 2013 - Apr 2013 (3 months)• Managed development of in-house and licensed craft kits for ages 5-12. Currently over 15 items on
shelf including Made By Me Laptop Knit and Loom and Made By Me See thru-Birdhouse.
• Developed and ideated new products from concept to retail.
• Presented ideas and cost analyse to upper management.
• Worked with cross functional teams including graphics, sourcing and engineering (US and international)
• Strategic team member worked closely with sales in identified and developed new business opportunities. New channels including Home Depot.
• This new business provided additional profit and 2 items (Made By Me Gingerbread house and
Wooden Train had 100% sell through. -
Product DesignerEaston, PADec 2008 - Apr 2012 (3 years 4 months)• Worked on new platform development of girls lifestyle brand LIV Crayola. Created a line of school supplies, including writing instruments, notebooks binders and locker accessories exclusively for Target.
• Relaunched, improved ergonomics, and created new line extensions for My First Crayola. Products included art supplies and craft kits for children under 3 (Palm grasp crayons, markers and stampers, Create and Erase Activity Mat, Mess Free Marker and Paper, Mess Free Doodle Board, Hand Print Creations. All still currently at retail of Walmart, Michaels, Target, and many additional top retailers. -
Art Director/ Senior Toy DesignerPlanet Toys/Planet Pets/Planet HomeNew York, NYAug 2005 - Oct 2008 (3 years 2 months)• Managed and ran the NYC office as Art Director for three separate divisions
• Led of team of 10, organizing product meetings, facilitating brainstorm sessions, and setting designers’ schedules
• Managed coordination of projects, communicating with the Hong Kong-based engineering team as
well as domestic marketing and sales teams
• Lead designer on all Hong Kong, Dallas, and NYC toy fair displays, working with TIA and exhibit halls
• Lead designer on multiple projects including: CSI science activity kits, Sesame Street My First Pet line, Mattel Outdoor lines, Fisher Price Preschool lines and a girl’s line of plush/web dolls.
• Created activities and instruction booklets for all products
• Created sound and play patterns for each product
• Invented new in-house brands, including 4 new product lines and a preschool line exclusive to WalMart. -
Summer InternHASBROPawtucket, RIJun 2004 - Aug 2004 (2 months)• Member of the Blue Sky Team responsible for coming up with ideas that could be used across Hasbro’s many brands.
• Met with different inventors to learn about new technology and then would apply it to create line extensions or create new toys and pitch to in house teams.
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Awards
Presidential Scholar- May 2002 Pratt Institute
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Affiliations
Women in Toys- Philadelphia Chapter Chair
SCBIW Member -
Industries
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Skills
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On Coroflot@efinegold7, member since 2012