A kids' upcycling kit to be creative with everyday materials found in the recycling or destined for the landfill.
role: industrial designer, design researcher, fabrication, brand designer duration: 32 weeks type: senior thesis
key questions
insights from parents
“They are definitely drawn to more open ended creative, imaginative toys, like Legos or pretend play toys.”
“The life span of a toy is definitely top on the list.”
“We teach them not to be wasteful, in terms of single use things and what can be recycled or reused.”
project intention
Introducing sustainable habits, while simultaneously sparking creativity through play.
My goal is to design an open-ended toy that promotes material resourcefulness and inspires children to create their own toys, ultimately reducing their desire for single-use toys.
benchmarking
Makedo observations
WHY I LOVE:
re-uses cardboard; material that would normal be recycled
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sparks creativity; allows children to build anything they want
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endless of uses and possibilities
PLACES I CAN IMPROVE:
only for cardboard; want to expand to plastics, styrofoam, fabric, etc.
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needs a lot of adult help with cutting and designing; want to create without as much altering
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the example expectations seem unreasonable, children might be disappointed with their results.
references
Fasteners & Connectors
initial concepts
initial prototypes
FEEDBACK
"love how open-ended and the possibilities that can be made"
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"looks difficult for children to cut and design these, will It come with an instruction manual"
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"shape looks flower-like, maybe making more gender-neutral"
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"really like the mechanism, super easy to use"
EXPERT FEEDBACK
really liked the concept of using materials that are found in the trash/recycling
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loved how easy the fasteners worked, didn’t think other complicated fasteners were needed, ie. hinges, screws
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4+ sets gave the user an already pre-assembled piece, so that younger kids didn’t need to build as much
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brought up points about trying to make this as kid friendly as possible, less cutting/altering and more using already existing pieces.
moving forward
designing a new fastener that connects material without that much altering
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starting to create toys out of existing shapes and different materials (cardboard, plastic, paper, etc.)
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creating the packaging, booklet and exhibition
SENIOR CAPSTONE EXHIBIT
Had such a fun time designing and executing my senior capstone exhibit. SPROUT! was on showcased for a week at RIT's University Gallery, received many compliments and offers to purchase!
