For the past 12 years, Aaron Archer has designed toys at Hasbro. Since 2000, he has overseen the Transformers line as its design director. Two weeks before the opening of the new Transformers movie, the 34-year-old Archer, a native of Canton, Ohio, spoke with Field’s Edge writer John Booth about the influences on his art and his job in the toy industry.


    Q: Talk briefly about your path to Hasbro.

    Aaron Archer: I went to The University of Akron for four years to study drawing and painting. The semester before I would have graduated, I happened to interview at Hasbro, thinking that I was working my way to getting a job after graduation. Then I actually got hired (in January 1995).
    The designers at Hasbro are given a lot of freedom. I was hired and was immediately designing toys. I didn’t realize we would have the latitude that we had. A good idea was valued: If it was a good idea, you just went with it.

    I needed to learn how manufacturing worked. That was basically the big thing: How to work in 3-D. And then what they got in return was a designer that wasn’t a standard industrial designer, but more of an entertainment designer and/or artist.
    They were going through a transition at the time. They realized the movie license route was getting bigger and bigger and more was at stake each year. You needed some designers that lived in that world of comics and movies and anime and conventions and everything - that understood that world and the TV shows. It was a skill set that I had.

    Q: Talk about some of the influences that shaped your art when you were growing up, from television to comics to movies.

    Archer: The biggest one as a kid was Ralph McQuarrie’s pre-production (original Star Wars trilogy) paintings. I had all of those. And then later, when they came out with other books like the Joe Johnston (sketch) books.
    That’s how I really found some of this stuff. I didn’t realize at the time that those guys were industrial designers. I just thought they were artists who drew spaceships and monsters and stuff. Otherwise I might have pursued an industrial design career.
    That, honestly, is my biggest influence to get into and keep doing art. I don’t draw like Ralph McQuarrie or anything, but that’s what I remember being influenced by.
    And monster movies.

    I didn’t get into comic books until almost sixth grade. Ironically enough, (they were) G.I. Joe and Transformers. Definitely G.I. Joe, which ultimately is kind of funny, because G.I. Joe is a world populated with potentially hundreds of character, two different factions and lots of intrigue. And Transformers is about two factions, hundreds of characters, and a lot of intrigue. I was into epic storylines early on, like Star Wars, like G.I. Joe, like Transformers, which has served me well.

    Q: Growing up, did you see yourself as pursuing a strictly art-driven career?

    Archer: It definitely wasn’t a hobby after (I was) six or seven. It was something I was doing.

    Q: Talk about your work specifically on Transformers, in terms of your role with that line and what you’ve done – where did you start and what did you do?

    Archer: I had done a couple of Transformers going back to ’96, ’97, here and there, just because they needed some style work done. This was during the Beast Wars era, so that’s where I first met the guys from Takara that we partner with, and I got my feet a little wet on Transformers.
    Then in 2000, when we found out we were getting transferred from the Cincinnati office to the Rhode Island office, I basically asked for Transformers because the guy who had been working on it wasn’t going to make the move.
    The job, while artistic, is also about management. We’re constantly reinventing Transformers every two or three years.

    Q: Given your artistic background, where did you turn to handle that big-picture role regarding the brand?

    Archer: I don’t really know. I’ve read a lot of different artists’ books, and when they do the “Art of…” kind of things. I always listen to stories. I always paid attention to my art school teacher and things, and kind of learned how life really was, even though I hadn’t lived parts of it yet. And then I had a strong drive to make stuff cool and have people respond to it - not just make it cool for me.
    What I’ve learned is that industrial design is about coming up with the most creative answer to a particular problem. The problem I’ve inherited is how do you sell as many Transformers as possible and promote the brand … without fouling it up.
    That transitions into me giving my input on T-shirt designs and the cartoon storylines. What I do now, I kind of see the whole world of Transformers, and while there are many trains, I make sure none of them hit each other.

    Transformers after the (new) film will be a whole different situation than before the film. We’ve only been a toy line and small animated show and some comics. It’s been around, and people understand it, because it’s a great puzzle (toy). But it’s not icon status. I need to keep something relevant and fresh for a new generation of kids, while at the same time trying not to alienate anyone that wants to stay with it.

    Q: Talk about how your job at Hasbro has changed over the years, going from hands-on designer to more of a brand manager and story developer.

    Archer: Over the last two-and-a-half or three years, I’ve basically gotten off the (drawing) board. Previous to that, I had drawn a lot and colored and done everything. I’ve been overseeing the direction of the brand and different areas we can take it.
    Certainly we’ve been pitching this movie for awhile. We were always pitching to people that were interested. Either they came to Hasbro or we came to L.A. We called it Transformers school or Transformers 101, where we explained to them that these were metal beings that could do this amazing thing. They’re their own sentient beings; they choose to be good or bad, just like human beings, so there is a relevant story.
    Once we got to a point where the right writers came on and Michael Bay signed on and we had the other producers on board already ... that’s when we really got into it and showed what the potential could be.
    We knew to get the right people and to make this a unique movie, we didn’t want the 1980s cartoon remade on film.

    From late 2000 on, I was primarily the main designer on (the brand), whether I was called a manager or director or whatever. Transformers is one of Hasbro’s core brands, one that comes out every year. There’s a lot of responsibility to make sure there’s freshness and newness.
    With my other interests that I talked about, I just kind of started running with it. I got up to speed on everything I had missed in the previous years, and realized there was a great big world of potential and just went full-bore. That included dealing with another division in our company that does outlicensing … (and) working with that group to kind of make the brand whole.

    At the end of 2001 we co-developed those (television) shows with Takara in Japan. We had to create a show that worked in their market, worked in our market, and supported product in both. On Armada and Energon I was a story consultant. On Cybertron I got an "original story concept by" credit. I would write some of the initial briefs. We kind of knew what we wanted the toys to do from a feature standpoint, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle. (There were) lots of trips to Japan, back and forth.

    Q: In your role, did you have to study the Transformers history to make sure things would work out or remain consistent with established storylines?

    Archer: No. Transformers has always reinvented itself. It’s kind of accepted in the fan community, particularly. (And) kids don’t care, because they don’t know what came before.

    Q: What’s the most rewarding part of the job?

    Archer: (To) know that me and my friends played with these toys or were captivated by these storylines, and what I’m doing today will influence somebody else 20 years from now when they’re doing my job. I like the whole historical aspect of it. The other part is actually getting to meet these people that appreciate what it is we do and believe in it from a philosophical standpoint. At the end of the day, the Transformers storyline isn’t about war and destruction; it’s about peace and bringing people together.