And so it begins ..
I decided to approach my capstone on a different concept then my original, this post will be vague due to developing a proof of concept and what goes along with catching up from the last few weeks until now. I cannot wait to explore the different possibilities that await me in my trial and error phases of my concept development.
Peter Fikar said in his conference paper that “early intervention services support in children with disabilities in their development form early age and on”. The research led me to believe that maybe I should consider a learning curve/disability in perspective of my designs.
Pursuing a way to spark imagination and creativity in young minds brings me to believe that there really is not an exact method perse. I believe that it is already within the young minds, but the need for connection to physical/touch and feel abstract is what really gives the spark.
Sustainability of course came to mind when I took a perspective approach on my research. Denis A. Coelho stated that “eco-design of toys is considered “tout court”. In, short that it is up to the company on cutting costs and exploring other resources rather than automatically jumping into a sustainable approach from the start.
In my experience today, plastics are within the big downfall of toy design. Everyone wants to cut costs and move on from major plastic use, but this issue at hand is that how can we still charge the same pricing or make revenue based on non-plastic goods for our consumers without pushing them onto the next company that is not considering their sustainable approach.
Approaching a different perspective on Luca Martignon’s approach to sensory learning and early childhood development. He uses a puzzle to explore sensory and problem solving with a simple functional toy that is as clean and clear in direction. Looking at ways to give a young mind shape while using a sensory driven perspective is what we are looking at in my design too.
It was a great research and development process to consider during my adventures, I will be moving on to developing my concept further with the research and development that I have come across, plus the research and development of myself through my internship.
Works Cited'
Berman, Marc. “Discover, Imagine and Create.” Challenge Camp, Challenge Camp, 9 June 2021, http://challengecamps.com/pre-kindergarten/amp/.
“Process of Making Toys.” Enamel Badges Made by Cooper, https://madebycooper.co.uk/products/toys-figures/process.
Runge, Katja. “Tapetto Sensorial – Sensory Puzzle for Children by LUCA MARTIGNON.” Afilii, 16 Sept. 2021, https://afilii.com/en/tapetto-sensorial-sensory-childrens-puzzle-by-luca-martignon/.
Fikar, Peter & Güldenpfennig, Florian & Ganhör, Roman. (2018). The Use(fulness) of Therapeutic Toys: Practice-derived Design Lenses for Toy Design. 289-300. 10.1145/3196709.3196721.
Coelho, Denis & Fernandes, S.A.. (2013). Toy design methods: a sustainability perspective.