GUND X Disney

Five children sitting on a couch, smiling, holding stuffed animals of Winnie the Pooh characters.

Repositioning GUND Through a Premium Disney Partnership

The Opportunity

GUND partnered with Disney for the first time—an important moment to redefine how the brand shows up.

Historically, GUND leaned toward a more traditional, product-focused aesthetic. With this collaboration, the goal was to elevate the brand visually and connect with a new audience: millennial parents who value design, storytelling, and emotional connection.

Young girl with dark hair, pink bow, wearing a pink sweater, lying on a beige carpet and cuddling a gray plush Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal.

The Insight

Millennial parents don’t just buy toys—they buy experiences, nostalgia, and meaning.

Disney already owns emotional storytelling. The opportunity was to position GUND not just as a plush toy brand, but as part of a modern, design-forward lifestyle that fits naturally into the home and everyday moments.

The Idea

“Soft Moments, Thoughtfully Styled”

Create a visual world where GUND x Disney feels elevated, warm, and intentional—less like a toy brand, and more like a lifestyle brand rooted in comfort and storytelling.

Creative Direction

As Art Director, I developed the overall look and feel of the lifestyle photography to support this shift.

This included:

  • Establishing a refined visual language (soft neutrals, natural light, elevated environments)

  • Directing photography to feel authentic, candid, and emotionally driven

  • Styling scenes that reflect real family moments, not staged product shots

  • Ensuring the Disney IP felt integrated, not overpowering

The goal was to create imagery that felt at home in:

  • Modern interiors

  • Social content

  • Retail environments

Execution

I led art direction across the shoot from concept through final imagery:

  • Developed mood boards and visual references grounded in audience and brand research

  • Directed lifestyle photography on set, guiding composition, lighting, and tone

  • Partnered with production and cross-functional teams to ensure consistency across outputs

  • Delivered a cohesive visual system that could scale across:

    • Digital campaigns

    • Retail

    • Social

The Outcome

The final work positioned GUND as a more modern, elevated brand, while maintaining its emotional core.

  • Strengthened the visual alignment between GUND and Disney

  • Created a scalable lifestyle system for future campaigns

  • Shifted perception from traditional toy brand → design-conscious lifestyle brand

Two children sitting on the floor, smiling and playing with Donald Duck plush toys. The boy is holding a Donald Duck plush and the girl is hugging her plush with a pink bow on its head.
A young child sitting on a beige carpet, smiling with their tongue slightly out, next to a Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy. The child wears a white shirt, denim jacket, dark jeans, and white socks. Behind them are a gray sofa with dark blue pillows, a wooden side table, and a tall plant.

Wizarding World

Three small glowing figurines resembling characters from Harry Potter, in front of a large, ornate, Gothic-style library with high ceilings and tall, arched windows. The figurines are illuminated in blue and are standing on a reflective surface.

Evolving a Franchise Aesthetic for a New Generation

The Challenge

By the third season of Wizarding World, the visual direction was already established—rooted in the early Harry Potter films:

  • Clean, studio-based environments

  • Traditional school uniforms

  • Bright, evenly lit compositions

However, the franchise itself had evolved. Beginning with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the tone shifted:

  • Lighting became more moody and cinematic

  • Characters moved toward individual expression through wardrobe

  • The world felt more grounded, textured, and emotionally complex

The challenge was to modernize the brand aesthetic while maintaining continuity with what had already been established—and ensuring it resonated with both:

  • A new tween audience

  • Longtime fans and collectors

The Insight

The Wizarding World grows with its audience.

To stay relevant, the visual identity needed to reflect a more mature, immersive version of the world, while still retaining the recognizable elements that fans expect.

The Idea

“A World That Evolves With You”

Shift the visual language from staged and youthful to cinematic and atmospheric, creating a bridge between early nostalgia and a more mature, story-driven experience.

Three toy figures in front of a city street background, with two small toy boxes on the left.
Three small figurines in front of a large castle backdrop, with a boy on the left, a girl in the middle, and a girl on the right, all standing on a sandy surface.

Creative Direction

As Art Director, I evolved the look and feel of the brand to align more closely with the tone introduced in later films—while maintaining continuity with earlier seasons.

This included:

  • Introducing moodier, directional lighting to create depth and atmosphere

  • Moving away from strict uniforms toward layered, character-driven styling

  • Incorporating more textured environments and natural compositions

  • Balancing cinematic tone with approachability for a younger audience

The goal was to create imagery that felt:

  • Authentic to the films

  • More emotionally engaging

  • Visually elevated for collectors and long-time fans

Execution

I led the art direction across lifestyle photography and visual development:

  • Developed updated mood boards and visual references rooted in film evolution

  • Directed on-set photography, guiding lighting, composition, and styling

  • Ensured continuity across seasons by blending legacy elements with new direction

  • Collaborated cross-functionally to maintain alignment across product, marketing, and brand teams

The resulting system allowed the brand to evolve without losing recognition.

The Outcome

The updated visual direction successfully bridged two audiences and two eras of the brand:

  • Created a more cinematic, immersive aesthetic aligned with the Wizarding World universe

  • Increased relevance with tween audiences while deepening appeal for adult fans and collectors

  • Established a scalable visual system for future seasonal campaigns

Hand placing black-haired figurine among other small figurines on wooden surface.
Three small figurines of Harry Potter characters with a yellow plastic display case in the background. The figurines include Harry Potter with glasses holding a book, Hermione Granger with curly hair and a green dress, and Ron Weasley with red hair and a wand.
Three small figurines resembling characters from a story or show, standing on a wooden surface with a blurred background. They wear different outfits: one in a green suit, another in a black coat, and the third in a green dress with a large hat.

Kinetic Sand

A woman and a young boy playing with colored sand or kinetic sand, smiling and engaged in a tactile activity, with a purple container holding multiple colors of sand and small plastic shovels.

Reframing Play: From Solo Activity to Shared Family Experience

The Challenge

Kinetic Sand was primarily positioned as a solo children’s activity, with visuals focused on kids independently playing with the product.

At the same time, the brand faced a key perception barrier:

Concern that the product would be seen as messy or difficult to manage

The directive was twofold:

  • Expand the narrative to show Kinetic Sand as a shared family experience

  • Reinforce that the product is clean, controlled, and easy to use and store

All while maintaining strict visual discipline:

  • Clean sets

  • Contained product

  • No sense of mess or chaos

The Insight

Parents are more likely to engage with products that feel:

  • Safe and manageable

  • Easy to integrate into everyday routines

  • Shared, not isolating

To shift perception, the product needed to feel less like “playtime mess” and more like a contained, intentional activitythat works for both children and families.

The Idea

“Creative Play, Without the Mess”

Position Kinetic Sand as a structured, satisfying, and shared experience—where creativity happens within a controlled, beautifully presented environment.

Creative Direction

As Art Director, I evolved the visual language to support both family interaction and product control.

This included:

  • Introducing family presence to shift from solo to shared play

  • Designing scenes that highlight ease of use, cleanup, and storage

  • Using a light, clean color palette to reinforce clarity and control

  • Directing lighting to feel bright, soft, and inviting

  • Meticulously styling the sand to always appear contained, sculptural, and intentional

Every detail was considered to ensure the product felt:

  • Approachable for parents

  • Engaging for children

  • Visually calm and controlled

Execution

I led art direction across lifestyle photography from concept through final delivery:

  • Developed mood boards and visual frameworks rooted in product benefits and audience needs

  • Directed on-set photography, focusing on composition, cleanliness, and product clarity

  • Styled product interactions to emphasize ease, structure, and satisfaction

  • Collaborated cross-functionally to ensure alignment with brand priorities and product messaging

The result was a cohesive visual system that could scale across:

  • Packaging

  • Digital campaigns

  • Retail environments

The Outcome

The updated direction expanded how Kinetic Sand could be perceived and used:

  • Successfully introduced family-oriented storytelling into the brand

  • Reinforced the product as clean, controlled, and easy to manage

  • Created a scalable visual approach that balanced creativity with structure

  • Helped shift perception from “messy play” → “contained, satisfying experience”

Two children playing with a colorful kinetic sand set on a white table. One child, in a pink shirt, is holding purple sand, while the other, in a green shirt, is touching blue sand.
A young girl and an adult man playing with a colorful ice cream sandcastle building toy at a kitchen table.
A boy and girl playing with colorful slime toys at a table in a bright, cheerful kitchen.

Creative Decks

for access to PDFs please contact us at ymorrmill@icloud.com

A dinosaur with a colorful, scaly face and large yellow eye peering through cracked earth, with the text 'Primal Hatch' overlayed.

Primal Hatch

Two girls lying on the floor, covering one eye with their hands, surrounded by colorful animated unicorn and star stickers, on a pastel background. One girl has curly black hair and the other has straight blonde hair.

coolmaker

Three cartoon toy figures from Harry Potter in a dark alley with brick and wooden buildings in the background, with two small colorful boxes on the ground.

Harry Potter