Tomo · University project · 2019 · Refined 2021

Tomo

A playful sock brand that turns packaging into a friend.

Tomo sock brand and packaging design.

Project details

Role

Brand, Packaging & Motion Designer

Project

University assignment, revisited independently

Original duration

3 months

Tools

Cinema 4D · After Effects · Illustrator · Photoshop

Skills

  • Brand Identity
  • Packaging Design
  • Concept Development
  • 3D Visualization
  • Motion Design

Tomo began as a university brief to create product packaging with a second life. Inspired by my experience working in a shoe store, I designed a children’s sock brand with animal characters and a reusable foot-measurement guide. I later revisited the project through updated branding, Cinema 4D mockups, and animation.

YSDN 3010 · Professor Albert Ng

The starting point

An idea from the shop floor.

Working in a shoe store, I saw parents struggle to keep up with growing feet and children who weren’t always keen on shopping—or wearing socks. I wanted to make that everyday purchase more inviting.

What if a practical purchase felt more like meeting a new friend?

Tomo socks — project film

Characters and branding

Characters built into the packaging.

Animal-shaped silhouettes, cutout paws, and tails extend the characters beyond the socks themselves. The packaging frames each sock’s face, bringing the product and its character together.

  • Banana the monkey
  • Bao Bao the panda
  • Sunny the bunny
Three packs side by side — a red monkey, a white and blue panda, and a pink bunny with tall ears — each framing a sock face in a cutout window.

Packaging development

Made to keep.

A foot-measurement guide inside the package gives it a use beyond the first unboxing. I developed the original packaging through printing, cutting, and testing physical versions, exploring how the design worked as an object.

A yellow paper insert printed with a measuring scale, standing beside the red monkey pack.
Measurement guide printed inside the pack
Four bunny-shaped packs in lilac, purple, blue and pink.
One character, several colourways

The refinement

Revisiting Tomo.

The package structure stayed largely the same, while I revisited the logo, copy placement, and brand expression. I rebuilt the packaging in Cinema 4D and added a QR tag linking the physical concept to a proposed digital companion.

Six animal-head silhouettes in the refreshed palette, each labelled with its hex code. Opens the full-size image in a new tab.
2021 refinement · Updated colour palette

Tap the palette to see the colour values full size

Three finished paper packs photographed together on a purple background.
2019 · Physical prototype
3D render of an opened pack with a monkey-face sock, a tag carrying a QR code, and a monkey figure standing alongside.
2021 · Brand refinement & 3D visualization

Motion

Giving the characters movement.

I wanted the characters to feel like they were bursting with positivity and energy. Bouncy movement brought that personality into the animation, extending Tomo’s playful identity beyond the packaging.

Tomo friends — character animation

Proposed mobile experience

The QR tag connects the packaging to a proposed digital companion, where children could meet the characters beyond the physical product.

Concept artwork of a phone screen showing the three characters and a play button, beside a QR code tag.
Animated phone screen showing the monkey character waving in a jungle setting.
Banana in a proposed environment

Reflection

A project I grew alongside.

Returning to Tomo gave me a way to build on a physical design project through branding, 3D, and motion. It still reflects the kind of work I enjoy: playful, characterful, and rooted in an everyday observation.