Rarely does a day go by where we don’t see a skull related toy or custom appearing on the toy blogs. They say sex sells, but in the case of designer toys the saying just might be – skulls sell. However, just the use of a skull in one’s design is not enough to make it a successful design, but rather in how it is utilized. Having the design chops to take a globally used icon and transforming it into something original and recognizable as one’s style is no easy task and yet many toy designers have done just that with great success. Humor me now, but what if there were no skulls used? Would the designs still have been as popular? What would have come of the Huck Gee Skullhead, Kaws Companion, Skelves, Calaveritas, Modern Hero, Squadts, Skelenimals, etc., and so on, without the skull theme?
What makes the skull so appealing? Is it that it conveys a face, but is not a face at all? Could it be that our own skull is something we will never get to see? Does the symbolism of the skull provoke an emotional connection? Are skulls simply cool design elements and who gives a crap why they are so widely used?
Whatever the reason and how overused, the skull icon is here to stay.
