While there are now many friendly, interactive high-tech toys that are capable of conveying a range of ever-changing emotions, most classic plush toys are stitched with unchanging joyful smiles—yet Whatsitsface is out to change this. At the New York Toy Fair, Whatsitsface will be revealing its concept for a new kind of plush toy with a rotating face that can be changed six times to reveal distinctly different emotional expressions.
With a patent-pending manual turning device, Whatsitsface allows for kids to manually rotate the face of the bear, cat and dog plush toys to reveal faces that are not just happy or sad, but also amused, sleepy, surprised or angry.
According to Joanna Paul, founder and CEO of Whatsitsface, “Whatsitsface fosters imaginative play and builds emotional intelligence—critical life skills in these interconnected times.”
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Expressive Plush Toys
- Plush toys are innovating to be more expressive through rotating faces with a range of emotions.
- Manual Turning Devices
- Manual turning devices are being integrated into children's toys to enhance their play and interaction.
- Emotional Intelligence Toys
- Toys are being designed to foster emotional intelligence and imagination in children.
Where This Applies
- Toy Industry
- The toy industry can develop and market expressive plush toys with rotating faces to meet the demand for interactive and innovative toys.
- Education Industry
- The education industry can incorporate these emotionally intelligent toys into curriculum to teach children essential life skills.
- Therapy Industry
- The therapy industry can use expressive toys with rotating faces to help provide children with emotional support and build coping skills.
