An interview with Ben, the Product Developer and Designer behind Morphimals™

July, 2019

Ben, tell me a bit about yourself?

I’m a Product Developer and Designer here at ORB™ and have been with the company for just over a year. I love working with expression and dynamic forms, making characters and creations that appeal to anyone. I also really enjoy digital painting and getting lost in a world I’ve created myself. It’s a very gratifying and pleasurable line of work.

How did you get into design?

I’ve been an artist my entire life. It was never a choice to become a designer, it’s an evolution with a clear sense of direction. I studied art in university which led me into a career as an animator and designer in broadcast animation, eventually becoming a toy designer.

What inspired the Morphimals™ product line?

Our team was faced with the challenge of creating a brand-new tactile toy line with facial expressions that could be molded and distorted in different ways (similar to Soft’n Slo Squishies™) with the ability to keep their shape. I guess you could say we were inspired by clay sculpture and big silly faces.

Where did you find inspiration for Morphimals™?

For ShapeyApey, who was the first Morphimal™, we wanted a fun, silly monkey with big eyes like those monkeys with the cymbals you see in the movies. Believe it or not, FrankenForm comes from a minor obsession I had for drawing zombies when I played in a heavy metal band—I drew our t-shirt designs and album covers. ShapeSaurus is basically my elementary school science project where I had my dad help me create a Brontosaurs model using paper mache. I remember painting it the same bright green colour as ShapeSaurus.

Who is your favorite Morphimal™ and why?

This changes all the time but, ultimately, I’d have to say the flamingo. It’s just crazy, silly, and very puppet-like. I think the flamingo is the comic relief of the Morphimals™.

Where do you see the Morphimals™ product line going, in the future?

We’ve been creating all sorts of new ideas for Morphimals™. We’re hopefully going to give the Morphimals™ some fun accessories and expand the line with many more characters to collect and enjoy.