Kay Goldfrank
Dr. Newcomb
ENG 170: Writing and Rhetoric
2 October 2020
Defining Childhood Through Crayola
Since its introduction into the adolescent education industry, Crayola has used its crayons to define childhood as a universal, yet individualized, experience; that through its crayons, one can discover. In May of 2020, amidst a surging pandemic that left children, around the world, at home with months of time and nowhere to go, Crayola released their newest product: Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons, 24 Count (Crayola). For $2.49, the same price as the Classic Crayola Color Crayon Pack, families can buy their children a pack of twenty-four crayons to color their self-portraits. Crayola’s regular box of twenty-four crayons includes only five shades of brown, requiring young artists to mix and settle for colors that might not accurately reflect the hues of their reality. It is by way of Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons that Crayola expands its definition of childhood to foster self-expression and acceptance of people of all semblances.
In one of the company’s first announcements of this new product, Crayola tweeted, “We hope to cultivate a more inclusive world for children of all ages, races, cultures, and ethnicities” (Twitter). Evident in this statement is Crayola’s reassertion that its brand mission is to encourage individuality and a sense of pride in today’s youth. The specification of Crayola’s diction, “ages, races, cultures, and ethnicities” addresses some of the inherent biases and inequalities mainstream society is currently confronting with dissent and social change.
In an effort to appeal to a grander audience, the Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons have English, Spanish, and French names of colors written on each crayon’s paper sleeve (Mahadevan). By acknowledging its international and multilingual customers, Crayola presents itself as more inviting, in turn growing its appeal to the public and thus its consumer base. Rather than expecting non-English speaking children to ignore the crayon names, and forgo associating each color with the objects and ideas as intended, Crayola evolved its branding to better target its audience.
In a statement advertising the new crayons, the CEO of Crayola, Rich Wuerthele, spoke to Crayola’s objectives: “We want the new Colors of the World crayons to advance inclusion within creativity and impact how kids express themselves” (Rivera). The heightened term “advances inclusion” makes a point the difference between becoming more inclusive and shifting the definition of inclusivity. Wuerthele conveys the company’s intentions to evolve inclusivity’s connotation for society, away from adapting to better fit a larger community, to arriving at the table being ready to accept all individuals. Wuerthele expands on his statement, remarking on the growing diversity of the world and Crayola’s optimism that the new crayons will nurture “a greater sense of belonging and acceptance” in Generations Z and Alpha (Rivera).
With twenty-four colors, the Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons are “designed to mirror and represent over 40 different skin tones” (Rivera). “Designed” implies the crayon colors were carefully constructed to target its customers, indicative of Crayola’s newfound acknowledgment that its consumer base is much more diverse than its products previously catered to. Alluding to seeing one’s reflection in a “mirror”, the use of the term further highlights the gravity of the design that went into creating Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons. In efforts to achieve the most accurate crayon colors for the skin tone-inspired product, Crayola partnered with a renowned makeup chemist, swatching waxes like foundation (Robin).
The Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons is a selection of exclusive colors which are only available for purchase within the specific box (Crayola). The Classic Crayola Color Crayon Pack holds eight different colored crayons and has one brown crayon (Crayola). The 64-piece box of crayons contains the original brown crayon, along with eight additional beige and brown shades (Crayola). By advertising the Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons as its own entity, separate from the popular and sought-after 64-piece box, Crayola de-emphasizes the necessity for diversity in children’s creative and educational workspaces. This thus conforms to the cyclical prejudice instilled in youth regarding accepted lack of representation, and is counterintuitive to messages of embracing self-expression and exploring identity Crayola publicizes to its adolescent audience.
By way of the newest edition to the Crayola Crayon collection, Crayola succeeds at bringing issues of lack of accurate representation of different races to the foreground of public conversation. While there is constructive criticism of Crayola’s attempt at further inclusivity, its collective approach to addressing an exigency for eradicating racial transparency. Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons has helped expose the ingrained belief that the portrayal of all people are not yet valued heavily-enough in American and global societies. Crayola’s initiative is paramount, setting an example for other companies in childhood education on how to better cater to its entire audience.
Works Cited
Crayola. “Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons, 24 Count.” Crayola Crayons, Crayola, May 28 2020, https://shop.crayola.com/color-and-draw/crayons/colors-of-the-world-skin-tone-crayons-24-count-5201080000.html. Accessed 25 November 2020.
Robin, Marci. “Crayola Teamed Up With a Former MAC Chemist to Expand Its Range of Skin-Tone Crayons.” Allure, Condé Nash, 21 May 2020, https://www.allure.com/story/crayola-skin-tone-crayons-extension. Accessed 25 November 2020.
Mahadevan, Tara C. “Crayola Announces New Skin Tone-Inspired Crayon Box to Promote Inclusivity.” Complex, 21 May 2020, https://www.complex.com/life/2020/05/crayola-announces-new-crayons-promote-inclusivity. Accessed 25 November 2020.
Rivera, Josh, and USA Today. “Crayola launches ‘Colors of the World’ skin tone crayons.” Chicago Sun Times, 22 May 2020, https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/5/22/21268090/crayola-colors-of-the-world-skin-tone-crayons-diversity. Accessed 25 November 2020.
Twitter. “Crayola Tweet.” Twitter, Twitter, 21 May 2020, We are excited to introduce our new line of crayons, Colors of the World, available now for pre-order, http://crayo.la/COTW! BoyWomanBoyBoyWomanWomanBoyWomanBoyWoman [Emojis] With the Colors of the World, we hope to cultivate a more inclusive world for children of. Accessed 30 November 2020.