Kevin Williams is the Jury Captain for the 2024 Core77 Design Awards Toys & Play category. This category features consumer products designed for children or adults for the purpose of activating play and creative exploration. Examples include: children's toys, board games, sports accessories, art supplies, DIY kits, educational toys, electronic toys, and musical instruments.

If there's one thing Kevin Williams never tires of, it's discovery. Fortunately for him, he's built a career infused with opportunities to do just that. The founder and CEO of OgoSport, Kevin's medium as a product developer is toy design: it's a focus on play that involves a lot of work.

Kevin Williams enjoying a day at the beach

"If you are very lucky, there's an amazing moment during the development journey where you feel as though you are the first person to see this 'thing' being created," said Kevin, who remains fueled by passion for design focused on user experience and play value. "I still get goosebumps when it happens, and I'm addicted to it."

After graduating with a master's in industrial design from Pratt Institute in 1995, Kevin founded design-focused companies including MAKE, CAKE, Everest Columbarium, and Plan C. He co-founded toy and game company OgoSport (with Rick Goodwin) in 2006, and the company has gone on to create award-winning products distributed in more than 40 countries, picking up honors like the Toy of the Year (TOTY) from the Toy Industry Association.

The Ogodisk and accessories, by OgoSport

Kevin observes that many people find the act of invention "too fuzzy," likening the process to creating a maze while trying to solve it. "As a creator, you are developing the product concept then tearing it down where it falls short, over and over, until you cannot tear it down anymore," he said. "It's a painfully iterative process to most folks."

To designers entering their projects for consideration in the Core77 Design Awards, Kevin advises patience: "I've been fortunate to have had a few products that were very successful, but I have had more that were complete flops." While he acknowledges that failure never feels good, he also believes "it's part of the process and everyone experiences it." His strategy to get through it? "Just keep moving forward."

The winner of the 2023 Core77 Design Award in the Toys & Play category was Paku Gardening Tools, inspired by traditional agricultural tools used in the Maori world.

If you've got a project that could give our jurors goosebumps – in the Toys & Play category or another realm – enter your work in the Core77 Design Awards today!