THE BOXTROLLS

Print-and-play collateral for the Laika Studios film The Boxtrolls: children can download and print the paper toy (and accompanying instruction sheet) and easily assemble at home, school, the Boys & Girls Club, or wherever children print and assemble things (are libraries still a thing?). Part of this film’s charm is its rich and fanciful old-world visual language, a theme that speaks to my inherently nostalgic design sensibilities and which I have frequently enjoyed recasting over many years and projects—while the Boxtrolls live underground, and 1805 presumably was not too brightly-lit in general, I wanted to be sure this piece felt youthful rather than fusty or overworked. To straddle this line I kept colors on the happier, lighter side of the film’s overall palette, and eschewed ‘authentic’ Victorian type treatments for more whimsical, boxy faces and open, easy-to-read composition.