The eight finalists for the 2022 Kelvyn Gardner License This! competition span Brand & Design, Character & Animation and Product Design.

Eight aspiring designers, illustrators, inventors and entrepreneurs have been shortlisted for the 2022 Brand Licensing Europe Kelvyn Gardner License This! competition, which aims to boost the profile of businesses and individuals keen to get a foot in the door of the $315b global licensing market.

The competition has three categories – Brand & Design, Character & Animation and Product Design – the latter of which is open to students this year for the first time and asked entrants to design a Wallace & Gromit branded STEM toy with an RRP below £30.

The eight finalists are:

Brand & Design: 

• Animo: Animo’s designs are based on the watercolour paintings of animals by the Swedish artist and stage designer Anna Gisle inspired by her many years working in the theatre and the world of Scandinavian children’s literature.
• Klara Hawkins: Her brand features distinctive, colourful and charming surface design that appeals to all ages.
• The Spookysaurus: The Spookysaurus started as a character in a children’s picture book aimed and, from these books the idea has grown and is soon to be expanded into the children’s fantasy book The Spookysaurus and the Boy with No Fear.

Character & Animation: 

• Frobelles: Frobelles is a character and digital toys brand based on sisters Coco, Kelli & Krista. The Frobelles proudly rock their Afro hair and inspire girls to love their natural tresses. Through a gaming app, digital content, a fan club, and activity magazine – the brand provides much-needed positive representation for girls with afro hair, it encourages self-confidence and fosters sisterhood.
• Let’s Go See: Based on the original Pilot Ollie and Pilot Polly adventure books written by Captain Rob Johnson, Let’s Go See uses animations, an augmented reality app, picture books and schools’ packs to entertain, educate and inspire children about the wonders of our world, it’s amazing people and cultures.

Product Design – this category is in partnership with Mojo Nation and Aardman:

• Lorcan O’Shea and his Contraption Creator
• Penny Kyriacou and her Invent-A-Cards
• Phoebe Bamford and her Stop Motion Bonanza Boz Set

The live finals will take place at BLE in the License Global Theatre on Tuesday 11.00-11:30: Product Design category finale; and Thursday 10:30-12:00 for Character & Animation and Brand & Design category finales.

In the finals, all eight finalists will present their properties, concepts and products to the judging panel, which is chaired by Start Licensing Director Ian Downes. The judging panel comprises: Phil King, managing director, Trademark Products; Sabrina Segalov, senior licensing manager, Sanrio Global; Emily Fawcett, head of Global Licensing, Abysse Corp; Dan Grant, licensing director, Danilo; Teri Niadna, managing director, Brandgenuity; Sarah Ward, chief executive, The Giftware Association; Clare Piggott, director of Licensing and Merchandising, Larkshead Licensing; Billy Langsworthy, co-founder, Mojo Nation & Brands Untapped; Sarah Lawrence, director, This Is Iris; Dale Boreham, senior design manager, Moonpig; Maxine Lister, head of Licensing, Natural History Museum; Rob Goodchild, commercial director, Aardman; Charlie Langhorne, director, Wild in Art; and Adam Vincent-Garland, business development manager – Video Games, Toys and Interactive, Aardman.

Adam Vincent-Garland said: “I have been extremely impressed by the quality of this year’s STEM Toy design submissions. Wallace and Gromit have been applied expertly with careful consideration for both the commercial and learning aspects of the products. In fact, it has made narrowing the shortlist down to just the last three students very difficult indeed.”

Brand Licensing Europe takes place from 20th-22nd September 2022 at ExCeL London. Visitors can register to attend for free here.