Ladies and Gentleman! Let me introduce you to one of our toy heroes: „Giraffe“ is an inflatable, sound-producing toy, designed in 1971 by Czech designer Libuše Niklová. Up to the 1960ies design for children was pretty conventional, mostly offering miniature versions of adult styles for children. Inspired by the principles of pop art from the 1960ies on the approach to kids design became more inventive and playful with vibrant colours and characters. New materials that offered new forms were supporting this development. After World War II wood and metal as materials for toys became too expensive. Plastic seemed to be THE solution. It was soft, light, flexible, hygienic and colourful. And it was relatively cheap. One designer that mastered the design of plastic toys to perfection is Czech designer Libuše Niklová. She designed toys that embraced the qualities of this new material rather then trying to imitate other materials and forms. Libuše Niklová started with squeaking animal toys in molded rubber, later on she created a famous series of blown PVC figures. At that time designers …