Communication Theory: Puffy
Communication theory in the design field
Communication theory explains how people share ideas and understand each other. In art and design, it helps us see how different elements like pictures, materials, and interactive parts carry meaning.
Artists and designers put messages into their work using things like shapes, colors, how things are arranged, and the setting. The people who see this art try to figure out what the message is based on their own culture, what they’ve experienced, and the people they hang out with.
In contemporary art, communication is flexible and open to different interpretations. Instead of a clear message, artworks invite people to think and look at them in many ways. This is similar to how modern communication works, where it’s important to get feedback, consider the situation, and understand how the person viewing it sees the meaning.
On the other hand, in design, communication is more straightforward. Design aims to make things clear and easy to understand, whether it’s conveying information, a function, or values to a specific group of people. In both art and design, communication theory helps to analyze how visual elements influence how we see and understand things.
When applied to the brand presented in this project, communication theory helps frame the product as a communicative system rather than only a functional object. The toy communicates ideas about play, learning, and values through its form, materials, colors, and modes of interaction. Understanding how users interpret these elements allows the designer to intentionally shape the message the brand conveys.
Communication theory helps make sure everything is the same across different ways of sharing information, like the product itself, the brand, and the materials used to present it. When the message is clear and easy to understand, it makes the brand stronger and helps people get the idea better. This way, communication theory can be a useful tool for making the project better. It makes sure that the design clearly explains what it’s trying to say to both kids and adults.
Presentation for a general audience
Have you ever wished teaching your child to keep clean, stay organized, and develop good habits was more fun and less like a daily battle?
Imagine if the daily routines of childhood — tidying up, washing hands, getting ready for bed — were met with excitement instead of resistance. This is the world PUFFY creates.
We know how it is. Between work, family, and everything else, it’s not always easy to make routines fun or to find gifts that are both meaningful and useful. That’s why we created Puffy.
PUFFY is a soft, friendly toy that grows with your child. It’s not just a toy; it also helps with organizing and teaching. With a gentle touch, PUFFY comes to life with soothing sounds, happy songs, and educational elements that teach important lessons about taking care of yourself, sharing with others, and keeping your space clean.
Imagine the PUFFY Sheep Backpack with special pockets for your favorite gadgets and treasures. It makes cleaning up your stuff before bedtime into a fun game. Or the PUFFY Bathroom Buddy that sings songs about brushing your teeth and holds all your bath-time stuff, making your bath time both fun and neat.
Puffy is perfect for parents who want to help their child learn life’s small lessons in a gentle way.
It’s also great for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. They can give a gift that’s not just another toy, but something that really helps, teaches, and makes the child happy.
With Puffy, everyday moments become opportunities for growth, laughter, and love. It’s not just about teaching habits — it’s about building happy memories, together.
Presentation for a professional audience
We are introducing PUFFY: a new brand that makes smart playmates for young children. We are not selling regular toys. We are offering a service that helps kids grow and learn in a fun way.
The toy market is full of products that either just provide fun or help with learning. We noticed that there is a need for something that helps families communicate better with young children. This involves teaching kids basic things like hygiene, organization, and taking care of themselves, which can be stressful for parents.
Parents want tools that make these lessons clear, positive, and a regular part of their child’s life. PUFFY is designed to be such a tool. It acts as a guide, helping to teach these important life skills in a natural and everyday way.
Our launch marketing will use a central-peripheral hybrid strategy (ELM):
For Parents (Central Route): We will work with child psychologists and experts on parenting to create content that explains how PUFFY helps with a child’s development.
For Gift-Givers (Peripheral Route): We will use emotional and visual stories on social media to show how PUFFY makes children happy and independent, and makes parents grateful.
Our products are based on clear communication principles, making them useful and practical.
The Socio-Cultural Function: Each PUFFY item is designed to reflect cultural norms. For example, the Bathroom Sheep doesn’t just hold a toothbrush; it helps teach the routine of hygiene by explaining why we brush our teeth and how to do it. The Backpack Sheep shows that being tidy is important for enjoying story time together, making it a valued activity.
The Cybernetic System: PUFFY works in a simple loop. It gives instructions (like a story about organizing toys), encourages actions (like putting things away), and gives positive feedback (like playing a song or continuing the story). This makes following rules feel like an exciting game.
The Narrative Core: We use storytelling to help children learn. Our products have audio stories where children and PUFFY friends face challenges, which provide important lessons on socialization. These stories are relatable because they mirror real-life situations that children experience.
We use soft colors like light blue, soft pink, and pale purple. These colors make the toys look like they are from a gentle, dreamy world. They also feel nice to touch, which helps kids feel calm and happy. We are planning to create an animated series. This will help kids get to know each toy better and show how they work together to help kids grow.
When designing for PUFFY, it’s important to keep everything simple and friendly. This means using soft colors, easy-to-understand shapes, and a story that feels like a safe and imaginative world.
Communication theory as basis for the presentation
Foundational Framework: Audience Analysis via the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
The main idea behind the strategy came from a theory called the Cacioppo’s Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). It says that people can be persuaded in two ways, depending on how much they want to think about something and how well they can understand it.
For the General Audience (The Advertorial):
We guessed that they wouldn’t think too much about the details. Parents and people giving gifts aren’t usually looking for a lot of information; they make quick decisions based on feelings. So, we made the ad simple and focused on emotions.We used words that make people feel good, like «Imagine if…». We talked about how people would feel, like «excitement instead of worry» or «feeling happy». We also used simple phrases like «a good friend», «a helpful helper», and «the perfect gift». The goal was to make people feel good right away and not confuse them with too much information.
For the Professional Audience (The Initial Group Pitch): We guessed that they would want to think carefully about everything. Investors and store owners want to see facts and reasons.
We talked about important facts, like how the product can stand strong in the market and what it can do better than other things. We showed surveys and data to back up our points. We described the product as a «tool for learning and communication», using simpler terms like «how people interact» and «how systems work» to explain why our product was a good idea and why it would work well in the market.
Crafting the Core Narrative: The Narrative Paradigm
Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm is very useful, especially for a general audience. This theory says that people are basically storytellers and are more easily convinced by good stories than by logical arguments.
In practice: The advertisement doesn’t list features; it tells a story. It shows a «before» situation (not liking cleaning up) and an «after» situation (enjoying learning and having a tidy place), with PUFFY as the hero who makes the change happen. Phrases like «turning cleaning up into a fun game» and «making playing time both fun and clean» are small stories within the bigger story. This way, the story makes sense (a logical order) and fits well with the audience’s values of love, peace, and good parenting.
Visual and Verbal Semiotics: Creating Meaning Through Signs
The theory of Semiotics, which is the study of signs, helped guide the choices for looks and descriptions.
Example: The words chosen — «soft, huggable», «calming», «cheerful» — and the pastel colors (soft pink/blue) are all signs. These choices are made to give a feeling of safety, gentleness, care, and friendliness. This is to help reduce the anxiety parents might have when teaching new things.
Materials from the Communication Theory course.
Бренд многофункциональных игрушек PUFFY // portfolio.hse URL: https://portfolio.hse.ru/Project/178294 (дата обращения: 13.12.2025).
Стартап-проект функциональных игрушек для детей // hsedesign URL: https://hsedesign.ru/project/04ac9ff3a6d644e79140808dfce2a99d (дата обращения: 14.12.2025).
