Miffy

Miffy

 

Miffy, known as Nijntje in Dutch (a shortening of of the diminutive konijntje meaning "little bunny"), is a beloved children's character created by artist and author Dick Bruna in 1955.

Miffy was born of a story Bruna told his young son Sierk during a family holiday in Egmond aan Zee, a seaside town in the Netherlands. Inspired by a little rabbit that frequently wandered through the garden of their holiday home, Bruna sketched what would become one of the world’s most famous bunnies.

The first Miffy book, simply titled "Nijntje", was published that same year and written in rhyming verse, setting the tone for the series to come.

Originally, Miffy's design was a bit more detailed, resembling a realistic bunny standing on her hind legs. Over the years, her appearance was refined to reflect Bruna's signature minimalist style: bold, clean lines, primary colours and a simple yet expressive face. Bruna was influenced by the Dutch graphic design movement, De Stijl, and in particular the work of architect Gerrit Rietveld. Indeed, there’s a certain Miffyness vibe evoked by Red / Blue Armchair (1923) by Rietveld. Must be the colours.

By the 1960s, Miffy’s geometric and minimalist design was solidified, emphasising Bruna’s philosophy of reducing elements to their essential forms while maintaining emotional depth. Bruna created books that he himself found aesthetically pleasing. He wanted to produce beautiful prints that stand alone as graphic designs. The fact that his books are loved by children worldwide is simply an added bonus.

The stories are simple yet profound, often exploring themes of love, curiosity, grief and everyday adventures, making them relatable for children everywhere. And there’s a formula. Miffy books each contain twelve pages of story. Each page has one illustration and four lines of verse, the last word of the second line rhymes with the last of the fourth. They are written about things that children can understand, and situations they will face such as going to the hospital and going to school, and they always have a happy ending.

Bruna authored over 30 books about Miffy, which have been translated into more than 50 languages and sold over 85 million copies worldwide.

Miffy’s appeal extended far beyond books. She became a cultural icon, appearing in animated TV series, merchandise, museum exhibitions and even a collaboration in 2023 with the Tommy Hilfiger fashion brand. Her popularity has soared in Europe and Japan, cementing her status as a global figure of childhood.

Miffy is sometimes assumed to be a Japanese character, because Sanrio's Hello Kitty, introduced in 1974, is rendered using a similar line style. Bruna was not a fan, and in 2010, Mercis BV, representing Bruna, brought suit against Sanrio with the claim that one of Hello Kitty's companion characters, a rabbit named Cathy, infringes on the copyright and trademark of Miffy. On 2 November 2010, a Dutch court ruled against Sanrio and ordered the company to stop marketing Cathy products in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Fair cop.

We’ll leave you with two fun facts about Miffy:

  1. You won’t find the colour purple in Miffy books, because Bruna doesn’t like purple!
  2. Bruna’s characters are always looking straight at the reader, and never appear in profile.

Story Idea: Rachael Barham Snowden
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References

miffy.com
wikipedia.org/wiki/Miffy
wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Bruna
theguardian.com/business/2010/nov/04/cathy-infringes-miffy-copyright-case

Images

1. Miffy by Dick Bruna. Credit: miffy.com
2. Dick Bruna in his studio in 2007
3. Red / Blue Armchair (1923) by Gerrit Rietveld. Credit: Kirkland Museum
4. Miffy books
5. Miffy shop, Amsterdam. Photo credit: CvandenHil
6. Miffy statue at the Nijntjepleintje ('little nijntje square') in Utrecht, the Netherlands
7. Rotterdam Walk of Fame. Photo credit: Ziko van Dijk
8. Miffy, Dick Bruna's rabbit, left, and the not dissimilar Cathy, friend of Hello Kitty
9 & 10. TOMMY x MIFFY in celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit, 2023. Photo credit: Tommy Hilfiger

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