Tayto

Tayto

The collection of samples above showcase my design work for Largo Foods’ iconic Tayto brand. The projects span brand identity design, illustration and character development, from collaborating with Brown Bag Films on 3D Mr Tayto characters to creating visual storytelling across packaging, print and theme park branding. Together, these works celebrate Irish humour, heritage and creative design at a national scale.

Mr. Tayto

After Guinness and St Patrick’s Day, few names carry as much Irish cultural weight as Tayto.

My collaboration with Largo Foods began with an unusual brief: to design and illustrate the autobiography of Mr Tayto, the fictional founder and CEO of Ireland’s most iconic crisp brand. Think of Mr Tayto as Tayto’s very own Mickey Mouse, a mascot with charm, wit and unmistakable personality.

Bringing him to life meant building a full world around him. Working in collaboration with Oscar-winning animation studio Brown Bag Films, we developed a series of 3D Mr Tayto characters in a range of poses and personas, including his legendary ancestor, Turlough O’Taytaigh, the “real” discoverer of the potato, according to Tayto lore. To make the story feel real, I designed and photographed keepsakes and heirlooms: family portraits, school reports, postcards and other fragments from Mr Tayto’s imagined life.

The tone balanced humour with authenticity, treating the absurdity of a potato-man biography with the seriousness of a historical record. That aesthetic extended across point-of-sale materials, posters, merchandise, PR campaigns and even Mr Tayto’s customised delivery van.

The book went on to become a national bestseller, cementing Mr Tayto’s place as a true Irish icon and setting the stage for what came next.

Tayto Park – Theme Park Branding

The success of Mr Tayto’s story evolved into a long-term collaboration with Largo Foods, including the branding of Tayto Park, Ireland’s first theme park dedicated to a snack brand.

The brief was to capture the sense of adventure and humour that defines Tayto while creating a visual identity bold enough for a theme park and flexible enough to support the wider brand. The design needed to link back to Tayto Crisps but also stand proudly as its own destination brand, full of energy, colour and fun.

From the Cú Chulainn rollercoaster to family attractions, the Tayto Park identity reflects the spirit of play that makes both the park and the brand instantly recognisable.

If you have a project in mind, drop me a line, I’d love to chat. hello@igarykelly.com