The founders of Leapfrog had the passion to launch a company and build products that inspire children and families to create a lifelong love of learning. Beginning with a core concept of phonics-based teaching combined with electronic sound chips, Leapfrog entered the highly competitive educational toy market.

Leapfrog quickly achieved tremendous brand equity through innovative products created from keen customer insight, rigorous testing and strict design principles. As a result, the Leapfrog brand soon dominated the U.S. market with more than an 80% share of electronic educational toys.

The beginning:

When Leapfrog came to Ignition they had a great idea, but needed design and product development expertise. The launch of their first products would be crucial to the success of their start-up company. Ignition expanded their original idea into two products to broaden their presence in a very competitive channel. We employed user centered design methods, along with concept prototyping, to ensure both the product and user experience resounded with young children and their parents. Ignition also provided engineering and prototyping services to guarantee design quality within strict cost targets.

---

BRAND BUILDING THROUGH DESIGN:

Ignition was able to define the family look for the young company, starting with their first two products. We ingrained all of Leapfrog’s subsequent products with this distinct Brand DNA. As a result, Leapfrog won the prestigious “Design of the Decade” award from Business Week magazine in 1999. They were ranked in the top ten fastest growing brands from 2001 to 2004. As Fortune magazine said, “Leapfrog built its brand the old fashioned way – by producing terrific products.”

---

Results:

Leapfrog has become the foremost developer of technology-based educational products in the world. Following a remarkable launch and capturing 80% of the U.S. market, Leapfrog and Ignition began developing new products for international markets. It is impressive to note that as Leapfrog has expanded into 24 markets around the world, the orignal products designed by Ignition such as the Twist and Shout, ABC School Bus and Phonics Writing Desk are still outselling their competition.

---