Erich Krause is a popular international group of companies and one of the most famous brands of stationery. The brand was founded in Russia in the 1990s and named after the German artist Erich Krause. The products are quite widespread in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.
The company produces writing and office supplies, school and creative products, even holiday and decor items. The company regularly updates its collections, introducing innovative materials and focusing on maximum user comfort. Unlike niche brands that, for example, produce only pens or accessories for developing creative abilities in children. Erich Krause allows you to cover all your work, educational, and home hobby needs in a single order. The products are more expensive than local brands, but significantly more affordable than German giants, despite comparable appearance and quality of materials. Prices are still quite balanced for the Russian buyer, who finds it more profitable to spend money on an import-substituting product.
This visual study will examine three different target audiences by Erich Krause: office workers, children and artists. It will analyze the similarities and differences between products sold on the market.
First, the previously mentioned key production areas are discussed in a more concise format. Next, we’ll dive deeper into the topic.
Office workers are offered a clean and stylish line designed to enhance productivity. The assortment includes convenient ballpoint and gel pens with signature easy-glide systems, markers, stickers, desktop organizers and high-quality document folders. These products are characterized by their functionality and reliability.
For artists and creative professionals, Erich Krause produces specialized materials that combine not only ease of use and safety but also aesthetic appeal. The brand offers professional graphic rulers, pencils of varying hardness and erasers. This also includes an extensive series for painting, featuring watercolors, gouache, pastels, acrylic paints, and various brush shapes.
For children, these same products typically offer simpler functionality, but are also distinguished by their vibrant and intricate design. The assortment includes easily washable markers, non-toxic play dough, wax crayons, colored pencils, convenient, skin-friendly sharpeners, and sketchbooks. Products undergo stricter laboratory testing and are certified to European standards, taking into account the clumsiness and inattention typical of the younger generation.
OFFICE STATIONERY SUPPLIES
In the overall ErichKrause product line, office supplies occupy a practical segment. These are products that customers choose not for self-expression, as in the case of creative goods, and not for a bright emotional reaction, as in the children’s line, but for convenience, reliability, and everyday use. Therefore, the brand’s communication in this category is built around rational meanings: order, stability, affordability, and functionality.
A set of stationery from the Erich Krause brand
The packaging of ErichKrause office products performs an important communicative function. It helps the customer quickly understand the key information: what kind of product it is, how many items are inside, what tasks it is suitable for, and what characteristics it has. For example, for pens, the important features are ink color, line width, and body shape; for paper clips or binder clips — size, quantity, and material; for folders — format, density, and purpose.
Various kinds of office supplies
This presentation reduces uncertainty during the purchase process. The customer does not need to study the product for a long time: the brand structures the information in advance and guides the choice. This is especially important for office stationery, where decisions are often made quickly and based on clear practical criteria.
Pens from Erich Krause
The visual strategy of ErichKrause in the office segment remains fairly restrained. The packaging often uses red, blue, white, and gray, as well as transparent elements. Red attracts attention and makes the brand noticeable on the shelf. Blue and gray create associations with the business environment, documents, the office, and rationality.
The white background adds a sense of cleanliness and order, while transparent elements allow the customer to see the product before buying it. As a result, the packaging creates the image of a product that promises predictable quality and convenience in use.
It is especially important that ErichKrause office products visually appear mass-market and universal. The brand does not aim for excessive decoration or strong individuality. Instead, it chooses a clear and accessible style that suits different audiences: senior school students, university students, office workers, and organizations. This universality can be explained by the fact that office stationery is often purchased not only for personal use, but also for group or corporate needs.
The brand’s advertising and positioning are also based on the idea of practicality. ErichKrause is presented as a brand that is well suited for everyday tasks. The customer does not need to emotionally «fall in love» with a pen, folder, or clip. It is enough for them to feel that the product is familiar, reliable, and will not disappoint in an ordinary situation. In this sense, the brand works through trust, habit, and a sense of stability.
Price also becomes part of the communication. ErichKrause office supplies are perceived as products in the affordable or mid-range segment. This supports the image of a mass-market brand: its products can be purchased regularly, bought in large quantities, and used without the feeling that they are expensive or «special» items. At the same time, the brand does not look random or too cheap, because it has a recognizable name, a consistent visual style, and a wide assortment.
Thus, the ErichKrause office line is built not on emotional expressiveness, but on a rational promise of convenience, order, and reliability. The brand speaks to the customer in a simple and understandable language: this product is needed for work, study, and everyday tasks; it is easy to choose, clear in appearance, and performs its function without unnecessary complexity. This is the main strength of ErichKrause’s communication in the office supplies segment.
Paper clips from the Erich Krause brand
CHILDREN’S STATIONERY
Of course, just like regular Erich Krause pencils for adults, children’s pencils are associated with German quality, despite the company’s Russian roots, and their marketing is distinguished by the use of visual anchors. However, there are quite a few differences, ranging from practicality to gimmicks for potential buyers.
First of all, the main difference between Erich Krause children’s series and regular pencils lies primarily in the adaptation of the tool to the anatomy and safety of the child. Children’s pencils have a larger barrel and lead diameter. Children under 3-5 years old have difficulty holding standard thin pencils due to their poorly developed fine motor skills. A thicker barrel makes it easier to grasp with the palm. Child psychologists and fine motor skills specialists consider this to be a rather good sign.
Thick pencils of Jumbo format
And now the fun part! The most interesting and colorful are the marketing strategies for selling children’s stationery. The packaging often has a glossy finish with lacquered elements, just like regular pencils, creating the appearance of a premium product. However, the most eye-catching part of the box design is the pictures. It’s enough to remember yourself as a child, a time when the covers and illustrations of fairy tales seemed almost the most important feature of a book, especially if they were done in a cartoon style. So, a child might be captivated by a picture of an adorable puppy in space, enough to ask their parent to buy it.
Importantly, visual appeal and the «toy-like» nature of the product can instill in a child a desire for learning and creativity. This is a key factor that benefits both the seller and the buyer.
Erich Krause Kids Jumbo Space Animals
Recognition also plays a major role in packaging illustrations. Erich Krause has had numerous collaborations, the results of which you’ve likely seen on display or marketplace websites. The most popular example of this phenomenon is the joint project with the Disney Channel. Sponsored videos were broadcast as part of the «Big Animation» program. The boxes featured famous characters from popular cartoons, recognizable worldwide, which expanded the brand’s reach
Mickey Club House Drive
Another equally large-scale licensing agreement for the brand in recent years was its collaboration with the Soyuzmultfilm studio. The company has released a large line of colored pencils featuring classic Soviet classics, familiar to almost every child in the CIS countries and even beyond.
Prostokvashino
Recognizability doesn’t always have to be something specific, with characters from a certain franchise or the like. Sometimes a familiar pattern, particularly prevalent in the media, is enough. For example, a stationery series called «Manga» features the familiar silhouette of Japanese comics and animation. However, in the illustrations, the art style is more reminiscent of characters from the Chinese computer game developer and publisher miHoYo. This may even be true, as marketers are likely well aware of the popularity of games like Genshin Impact among the younger generation.
Manga
Thus, it can be concluded that visual language plays a major role in Erich Krause’s children’s products, while the functionality and practical aspects of the products lean toward simplicity.
ERICH KRAUSE ART SUPPLIES FOR PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS
Appealing to an audience of artists is a very trust based thing, as the artists know their materials better than children or office workers. Professional art supplies also have a lot more uses and niches.
Watercolor sketchbook from the brand Erich Krause
Watercolor sketchbook from the brand Erich Krause
By package design they retain the iconic red color, but unlike office supplies, often showcase examples of art that can be made with said supplies. However, unlike with supplies marketed towards children, the packaging art is made much more professionally.
Sometimes there are also pieces clearly made by a professional hand, but they are often depicting rather silly and childish scenarios, in order to appeal to both adults and children. This is marketing either towards art school students, who while do have a more professional look at the supplies they use, still gravitate towards more whimsical designs. Though such middle-ground design choice in general helps to grasp a bigger audience.
Colored cardboard from the Erich Krause brand
Watercolor paper from the brand Erich Krause
There are also examples of much more simplistic packaging, which in general shows great flexibility in the marketing tactics chosen by the brand.
A set of graphite pencils from the Erich Krause brand
A set of graphite pencils from the Erich Krause brand, but in a larger volume
Double-ended colored pencils from Erich Krause
The brand often does collaborations with various media, since not only children but also adult artists often are drawn towards things that have imagery of their favorite media or artstyles.
A set of graphite pencils from the Erich Krause Manga series
Sketchbooks from the Erich Krause brand
One big flaw, however, that the brand has with marketing towards professional artists, is cases of use of generative AI on the packaging of art supplies. It is illogical to show not only digital, but also not human-made images to promote art supplies, not to mention the ongoing controversies in the art community regarding art. Also if the generated image imitates traditional art, this can be called misleading marketing, as it is not something that truthfully represents what can be made with said art supplies. This is the only critique I could think of.
Colored pencils from the Erich Krause brand and an example of misleading marketing
Various pencil sets from the Erich Krause brand
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, all Erich Krause products, from classic pencils to sophisticated office and art supplies, share common standards of ergonomics, reliability, balance of style, eco-friendliness and functional design, developed for maximum comfort and long-term use. The brand’s products are designed as universal tools that adapt to the needs of any age and professional group. The main differences lie in the intended purpose and technical characteristics of the materials, which are adapted to the specific age and tasks of each group. Key distinguishing features include the geometry of stationery products, design, including packaging, which is no small feat, as well as safety criteria. Marketers who work with different audiences also play an important role. They consider consumers of completely different types: parents, children, teenagers, office workers, corporations, artists, hobbyists and retailers.
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