A lot of it is to do with brand recognition there seems to be no other reason why these companies would make them so simple. Why is this always a bad hing, after all these products are not bad for kids, they help them to learn about all kinds of things.

LEGO

Lego is one of the biggest brands that is known to kids all over the world, then think of all of the fully grown adults that still use it. The thing is, the logo is such a simple one, a red background with a white text on it. Lego is something that is almost recognised by everyone in the world,., is this what has made them so popular.

Play-Doh

Play-Doh was not always for kids it actually used to be used as wallpaper remover until someone spotted children creating pretty good Christmas decorations with it, this changes how the company saw their product and changed it to what we now see. Now they sell over 95 million cans of the stuff a year and the logo, well have a guess; yes its white text over a red background. Are you seeing anything in common here?

Fisher-Price

Another company with another custom logo design and once again you will see the logo with white text and a red background.

Is the reason behind this perhaps that kids can see these colours more than anything else?

As people get older the colours seem to change and you will not see anything like this when it comes to sports logos or other business ones.

Building a LEGO House (feat. James May)

Will our children reflect on the toys and computer games that they have today with the same enthusiasm that James May exhibits for Plasticene, Meccano and Scalextric?

In the TV series ‘James May’s Toy Stories’ we see Mr May revisiting many of the classic toys that he enjoyed as a child. They’ve concocted a series in which Mr May builds a full-size plastic Spitfire plane, a full size house from Lego bricks, a full size bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool canal built entirely from Meccano and a 3 mile replica of the Brooklands banked racing circuit built entirely from Scalextric.

Mr May clearly likes toys that involve building something. They come from a time when toys inspired an interest in construction, engineering and making things rather than escapism into a fantasy world of monsters and violence.

His TV series comes at a time when many of us are thinking about gifts for our children. The latest computer games and games consoles have been at the top of their gift lists for many years. Last year they demanded a Wii Fit and Guitar Hero. This year they are hoping that Santa will bring them DJ Hero.

I’ve found myself thinking about which form of toy is actually the most beneficial for a childs education and development? Computer games and games consoles or construction toys like Meccano, Lego and Scalextric.

I belong to the same generation as Mr May. I grew up with Action Man, Meccano and Scalextric. I’ve never really understood why computer games have grown to become as popular as they are today. Personally, I would get a lot more enjoyment and satisfaction from building a model railway circuit than I would from pretending to be a disk jockey or pretending to play guitar. But I suppose that, in a way, I would be pretending to be a railway construction engineer and train driver. Choo choo!

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