WHITEBOARD PUZZLES (Spring 2018)
In my Product Design elective, my classmates and I were tasked to identify flaws or missing aspects in childhood toys and devise a solution by creating an improved toy. My partner and I noticed that there was a lack of meaningful opportunities to learn and enhance cognitive skills in toddler's toys. In addition, most toys only served one purpose, which limited a child's imagination and interdisciplinary growth. We set out to create a toy that would provide these missing pieces, which took the form of whiteboard puzzles.Through the making process, we maintained a journal log of our activities and daily game plans, while also relying upon Stanford's "Design Thinking." Even though it was not feasible to test our prototypes on actual toddlers, our class would hold periodic critique sessions on everyone's product so that each group could evaluate ways to improve and return back to the drawing board. Our materials were simple yet effective: we used Adobe Illustrator, a laser cutter, and whiteboard paint to construct our toys. The puzzles ranged in difficulty and shape, so that toddlers could progress through challenges and develop analytical skills, while gaining an understanding of basic geometry. The puzzles would also allow toddlers to become more creative by drawing figures on the puzzle pieces and seeing how they could all create a larger image. In summary, we engineered whiteboard puzzle of different shapes as to improve children’s creative, cognitive, and analytical skills all in one product. |