Pepe & Friends

Classic toddler line with an innovative twist

project developed for Hape

Toddler essentials
& progressive play

Innovation &
feature-rich

Storytelling to engage kids

A young child playing with a stacking toy from Hape that features a dog face and colorful rings.

Innovative toddler essentials

We set out to create a toddler range that captured Hape’s identity, heritage and innovation in equal measure.

Strong as the category was, this line needed to stand apart: distinctive, authentic, and a must-have for early development, with a design language rooted in the past but looking firmly ahead.

Starting with Hape’s beloved Puppy Pull Along, we built a playful world around it, using storytelling to enrich engagement and nurture core toddler skills, following Hape motto: love play, learn.

Starting from the Hape star!

Our contribution

Icon of a magnifying glass on a beige circular background.

Research

Strategy

Line drawing of a light bulb with rays indicating it is turned on, set against a yellow circular background.

Concept

A line drawing of a pencil on a circular background.

Identity

Illustration of a paint palette and brush with a large, pale yellow circle in the background.

Design

Illustration of two gears above a peach-colored circle, representing settings or configuration.

Development

Simple illustration of a 3D cube with lines indicating its edges, placed on a circular background with a few lines suggesting movement or emphasis.

Communication

A speech bubble icon in front of a circle background.

Puppy Pull Along…

becomes Pepe!

What made it innovative? Like a real dog, it sat, wagged its tail and, as the very first puppy, it was irresistible. We gave it a name, a personality, and friends, creating Sunny Valley and a story. From this, Pepe & Friends was born, delighting toddlers with surprises while inspiring imaginative play and warm connections.

A young boy with light brown hair in a white t-shirt and shorts playing with a toy dog on wheels, Pepe, from Hape in a softly decorated room.

Meet Pepe and his friends!

Cartoon illustration of a happy beige puppy with red ears and spots, a red nose, and a smiling expression.

Pepe

Cartoon illustration of an orange cat with green eyes, a dark nose, and stripes on its back, standing and looking upwards.

Dante

Cartoon turtle with a green shell and yellow body, with a friendly expression.

Tito

Cartoon red bird with one large eye, orange beak, orange feet, and orange tail feathers.

Lilly

How the Sunny Valley story began

Alongside the collection and characters, we created a leaflet that introduces families to Pepe’s world, using illustrative style that reflects the product and child-friendly language to make discovery playful and engaging.

Open children's book with colorful illustrations of a dog named Pepe, a boy, a turtle, and a bird in a sunny outdoor setting with trees and clouds. The book contains a story about Pepe finding a ball and making a new friends.

From story to the collection

Bright, cheerful colours draw children in, using a familiar, educational palette that aids learning through play. Simple characters and landscapes invite toddlers to connect, while a clean, lively graphic style keeps the visuals clear, engaging, and just the right amount of fun.

Colorful text reads 'PEPE & FRIENDS' with letters in red, blue, orange, and green. Below, there are seven color swatches labeled with Pantone colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and beige.
Colorful illustrations of a dog, cat, turtle, bird, hot air balloon, house, bush, ball, and sun.
An illustration showing different poses and face construction of a cartoon dog with cream fur, red ears, and orange spots. The dog has a cheerful expression, with various angles and facial details displayed.

Character construction

Comparison of three digital dog illustrations showing different shadow and light effects, in a row with variant styles labeled as Silkprint Flat, Heatprint Flat, and Heatprint Light & Shades.

Printing variants

Reinventing classic fun

Through playtests with children, teachers, and parents, we shaped our 1–3 range around developmental needs, blending sound, movement, varied materials, and storytelling.

Innovative mechanisms and lightweight cardboard spark playful reactions, adding delightful twists to classic toys.

A baby playing on the floor with a green turtle toy that has a rotating mirror on its back in a bright, white room. Developed by Hape.
Illustration of a tiger-shaped wooden puzzle with a spring-loaded mechanism, emphasized with labels indicating features like 'gently push,' 'watch him go,' 'innovative mechanism,' and 'spring-loaded mechanism.' The image includes a diagram showing the puzzle's different components, including six shapes, four shapes, and eight shapes, along with colorful wooden pieces of various animals and objects arranged on a tray and a standing wooden piece.

behind the scenes

~

behind the scenes ~

A young child stacking colorful wooden blocks by Hape with animal illustrations and names, including a turtle, lion, and dog, in a bright living room.
Young boy playing with a colorful marble run toy inside a glass dome while sitting on a couch with a yellow pillow. Developed by Hape
Close-up of a children's wooden toy with a green slide, a green wooden animal, and a yellow block with a lion face, part of a colorful playset. Developed by Hape.
Colorful children's marble run toy with plastic tubes, a roller, and a wooden base, featuring a green snake decoration and small red flower illustrations on a yellow background. Developed by Hape.
A baby lying on the floor, playing with a green toy shaped like a turtle with wheels, in a bright, white room decorated with bunting and flowers. Developed by Hape.
A young girl playing with a green and yellow turtle-shaped toy that has a clock on its shell, indoors in a bright, white room. Developed by Hape.
A young child playing with a wooden stacking toy Pepe the dog, with colorful rings stacked in order. Developed by Hape.
A young child playing with a wooden toy cat on a white carpet in a bright living room with large windows, plants, and a cream-colored sofa. Developed by Hape.
A young child with brown hair is crawling on a light wooden floor, playing with a wooden cat-shaped toy on wheels in a bright, colorful room. Developed by Hape.
A young girl with brown hair playing with a colorful educational wooden puzzle on a white table in a bright room. Developed by Hape.

The Full Collection

Collection of colorful wooden and plastic children's toys including animal figures, stacking rings, puzzles, blocks, and a maze.