Rowdies® Plush Dog Toy
Designed, developed, and tested for toughness over countless hours of rough dog play, our proprietary HardyTex fabric is more than just a fuzzy face—it’s a tough, plush fabric reinforced with a mesh backing for extra durability that surpasses standard plush fabrics.
Roles:
Charecter Development, Concept Ideation, CAD + Tooling design
Completed:
2018
Awards:
Global Pet Expo: Best in Show “Dog Category” 2017
Research:
The challenge was to bring greater durability to traditional cut-and-sew toys. Plush and furry textures encourage natural tugging and chewing behaviors, but often have a short lifespan. We set out to rethink the construction and create a more durable plush play experience.
Product Opportunity Gap:
The plush toy market was highly saturated with low-durability options, leaving an opportunity in the durable segment. At the time, “durable plush” toys relied solely on reinforced soft materials, revealing an opportunity to explore mixed-material construction.
Value driver:
As we researched ways to make plush more durable, we aligned that we wanted to find a way to use our durable TPE as a way to direct chewing to a more durable zone. We called these the “chew zones”.
Form Design:
Refining the form to integrate the brand language. Rounded forms and hourglass waists.
Framing the function:
Narrowing down the shapes, choosing a variety of functional categories.
Core functions of plush toys: chew, shake, bounce, toss, tug
VLB Integration:
The Zogoflex chew zone integrates the Zogoflex VBL into plush. Choosing a form that was inline with the Zogoflex VBL is critical to creating a cohesive look/feel within the brand.
Form Evolution:
The final form comes to fruition. Using the VBL guidelines to integrate the signature elements of the brand.
Final Vision:
After multiple iterations of form and material revisions, we align to the three top value dirvers:
Reinforced fabric - Extends the life of the plush
Well positioned squeaker - Keeps the fun alive longer
Zogoflex chew zones - Directs chew focus to the more durable parts of the toy.
The Rowdies collection provides a play solution for a variety of categories:
Tug, shake, bounce, toss, fling
