Making Toys

role, implementation, look+feel, and integrated prototypes

The following image represents a look+feel prototype. The objective was to mimic the concept of a cocoon in a more usable way than in previous cocoon prototypes. Here, ping-pong balls and some larger hollow plastic shapes are envisioned inside a stretchy nylon tube. The artifact is designed to be suspended from the ceiling and display quite a long pulse, perhaps one full pulse on and off through the course of a day, with a different type of signal pulse at the close of the day.

The following is an example of an implementation prototype, in which the buttons create different gestures within 6 different boxes, each with a different LED inside. The images are a human cell time course accompanied by two vintage negatives of Victorian profile photographs. Both of these categories of images are intended to be suggestive of the passage of time.

Integrated prototype:
— look+feel – stylized plush owl of soft materials, potentially soft weight to maintain upright position
— role in user's life – child's interactive nightlight
— implementation – button in left ear blinks left eye, button in right ear blinks right eye

Here are few additional look+feel prototypes for a cocoon-type artifact. The left-most is a difficult-to-achieve paper shred iteration. The second from the left is another iteration containing a wire frame to hold the cocoon body together.  The 3rd from the left is one possible incarnation in which a semi-solid shape would have a translucent window in the front from which light would come through.  The fourth is a cocoon made from layers donut-shaped cuts of thick felt or wool, layered on top of one another with LEDs shining through at intervals through the layers. This might also be created from corrugated cardboard, in which case the light might remain inside the central cavity and shine through the gaps created by the corrugation.

The following is a look and feel prototype with a body composed of a ripstop nylon backed with translucent triangles of plastic to create a semi-fluid geodesic form to encase the hardware. I think that the end goal would be to make this a portable light by endowing it with rechargeable battery power such that a child could carry it around.

The image below is an implementation/role prototype in which the user might slip an image into a projection box to create an enlarged image of, as suggested below, a window or an outdoors scene, mimicking natural sunlight in places where natural light might not be freely available indoors. The light cycle is envisioned to follow the relative 24-hour pattern of daylight (likened to a sine wave) and cycle through the seasons. It might require some user input for the date (perhaps a dial) such that the programmed length of day would correspond appropriately to the desired season. This might be useful for individuals with seasonal affectation disorder.