The British Toy and Hobby Association has announced the lineup for the ninth annual Design Student Seminar at Toy Fair 2019. The event will take place on Thursday 24th January in the Apex Room of the London Olympia.
The event is aimed at current design students to encourage them to consider a career in the toy industry. It features presentations from leading industry experts, and talks cover diverse subjects from the design process, to legal and IP protection.
This year, speakers include Marisa Morgan, designer and owner of Illumiarti LTD and consultant to Mattel, as well as David Fry from Agile IP who will discuss the importance of protecting intellectual property. Billy Langsworthy, Co-founder of Mojo Nation, will also give a presentation.
More than 120 students attended the 2018 seminar. Vinicius Schmidt, a student at the University of Sussex who attended last year's seminar, said: “The seminar gives you a different perspective into what users want and what the industry needs.”
“There's a lot of things that go into [the industry] that I didn't think about,” added Ethan Hayes, student at Kingston University. “It was really interesting hearing about the marketing.”
Students from a wide range of universities will be in attendance, including Kingston University, University of Sussex, London South Bank University, University of Northampton, University of Portsmouth and more.
“Our annual visit to the Toy Fair has become an essential calendar event, introducing our students to the amazing and varied world of toy design,” said Philip Davies, associate professor and course director of product and furniture design BA at Kingston University.
“The talks provide direct knowledge of toy design, marketing and intellectual property protection essential for the professional practice experience of our students. It's a super inspiring event that triggers the imagination of our next generation of toy designers.”
Rebecca Deeming, public relations manager for the BTHA, commented: “We're delighted to host the ninth annual Student Design Seminar at Toy Fair this year. The UK is renowned for its creative and innovative toy industry, and we're proud to do our part in supporting our pipeline of talent from top universities.”
Toy Fair takes place at the London Olympia from 22-24 January, 2019. More information and registration details can be found at www.toyfair.co.uk