My Idea and Progress Development

My initial idea on SAT1 was using a dog as my main character, riding the motorcycle with good behavior. Obey the traffic rules and ride with responsible. The appealing had to be looks adorable yet I was trying to adding in some local culture elements, the colourful Batik pattern looks on the shirt. The motorcyclist always where is shirt “front to back”, the purpose is to protect the shirt inside from dirts, it also works as a sweater and as a sun block too.

Another version, a family based on geometric shapes, square, triangle, round. I was trying to reflect a modern family in Malaysia that both parent need to work to support their family financial. Every day before they go to work, they will leave their children to daycare center. I noticed that they are children were not so closed to his parent. I was trying to draw my character far away from the parent and with no eye contact. He is playful, easy get distracted, not familiar with family rules and home manners. I would like to show the unhealthy society and social problems that we have now in my country. The story and idea will need to further development.

For the doggie motorcyclist, I was thinking why not make it bigger as a self-awareness on the road by focusing not just motorcyclists but also car drivers. The pencil box and stationaries leads me some ideas.

1. The pencil box would be a car / MPV, since it was the biggest size with many compartments and functions. Making it more transformable with fun factor along with children’s creative imaginations.

• Flag eraser could be a father, he is a football fan supporting Manchester United. I guess that was the flag came along on his back. The fruit eraser would be his daughter, I guess would be using strawberry shape.

• Staedtler 2B pencil could be the mother, slim and tall. An accountant. An organized person and always jot down notes and reminder to keep track daily household stuff. The replaceable leads pencil would be the aunties, Annie, Rosie and Connie. Their attires are full of patterns and flowers. The three colour pencils could be strawberry’s best friends. Just one problem, they like to draw on the wall and strawberry always trying to clean up their mess.

• Goli, the marbles made from glass. They could others friends with highly active character. They even really can’t stand still for a second.

• The Kilometrico ball pen would be the motorcyclist, he is the bad guy that rides his cassette tape motorbike ruthlessly. I understand cassette tape doesn’t belong in stationary, I sound that the shape is perfect for motorbike, so why not include to this family group.

Seeking Fun Factor from The Surroundings

I was researching some design ideas, looking into MOMA’s Century of the Children. There is one catches my eyes, Wire Car (2010). This life size toy car was made by the children in Makuleke Village, South Africa. Children are always full of creativities, they are the amazingly dare-devil designers. They salvaged various sizes of steel rods, wires and various metal materials from junkyard to build a line art car drawing look-alike. It got wheels! I believe the toy car can be maneuvers by legs pushing forward on the ground. They did remember put in the car seat, an antenna for listen to music, set of head light made out of aluminum.

Tshepo, Rally, and Mawisa, children of the Makuleke Village, South Africa, with Sharing to Learn (USA, est.2010)

Further research, There are many creative playgrounds made from junk. The Giant Cows (Finland) build out of old car parts and Geopark playground (Norway) build with redundant material from the petroleum industry. Both of the creative structure has the distinctive colors of red, blue, yellow, green and white and carefully selected to become part of the shapes and sculptures.

The Giant Cows (Finland)

Geopark playground (Norway)

The ideas was greatly inspired me by using primitive objects to form up into a brand new idea. I was thinking of something that is closely related to children. They have to be able to reach and to use every day, first come into my mind is pencil box. Need to think of all the ingredients inside the box that can be use as part of the character or props. Colourful is the key. There should be metaphor, with a good personality and a bad behavior character. Just like Tom and Jerry.

Web link – http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2012/centuryofthechild/#/timeline/designing-better-worlds

Web link – http://kaboom.org/blog/playgrounds_made_junk

Web link – http://weareinfinland.com/art-in-finland-miina-akkijyrkka/

Web link – http://remembersingapore.org/2011/11/03/100-things-we-love-about-the-80s/

[accessed 22 Dec 2014]

Bring Back From Our Childhood Memories

Dandanah – The Fairy Palace (1919-1920)

I always think of toy should be provide entertainment yet it can be educational. Toys are able to enhance cognitive behavior and stimulate creativity, in order to develop their physical and mentally skill. Then I found a good website “10 Beautiful Children’s Toys That Double as Design Pieces” inspired by “the fantastic Century of the Child exhibition” currently up at the MoMA. The designers are based on the elements that came from our childhood and blended in with the modern days of craftsmanship and modern streamline design. I noticed one of the most iconic elements they have tried to maintain was the colours, using the red, yellow, blue and white as their principle colours that have been used since early 80’s like DC comic superhero: Superman, Marvel comic superhero: Captain America, classic Transformers animation: Optimus Prime, Japan pop culture phenomenon: Ultraman.

Rubik’s Cube (1974)

I was so amazed by the modern design, the technology was giving such a big helping hand by producing the product with much fine details and light weight. The shape has been simplify to suite the modern trend and lifestyle but still able to maintain the iconic look and functionality. I found that three major materials was widely used, such as wood (MDF board replaced for solid wood for modern days), steel (replaced as aluminum for present days), and rubber (was replaced by silicon). The market are so demanding and force the company to save cost as low as possible by making the product light weight, using low cost raw material and easy to assemble.

Holdraketa (1960)

Many smart parents always knew how to choose a specific toy for their children, getting specific needs of their kids to learn while playing. Toys nowadays can be giving the benefits for the children to be specific to explore in physical skill and mentally skill. Taking the Soft Scooter as example, for a sensory seeker it can train the child’s ability to focus and to concentrate. Encouraging their motor planning, coordinating and balancing.

Series of Personifications of Childhood Misdeeds (1930)

Web link – http://flavorwire.com/317817/10-beautiful-childrens-toys-that-double-as-design-pieces

Web link – http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2012/centuryofthechild/#/timeline/designing-better-worlds

[accessed 21 Dec 2014]

The Boring Toys

Well, after getting some valuable advices from my tutors, I was trying to find on what was the most favorite toys for age of 5 to 10 years old. Unfortunately those toys are not so related to the “Designer Toy”. Many of those toys are imitation from a real subject, for example are like foldable fire station playset, makeup station, R/C racing, laser tag gun, deluxe microscope, spy gadgets…etc. Parts of those toys are from animated movies, like “Big Hero 6”, “Frozen”, “Transformers”…etc. This is so boring! I felt that it was lack of design element, the simplicity of form and creativity that I looking for.

I wonder why all these toys are so lifeless and so much relies on Hollywood blockbuster movies. In worst case scenario, they are extremely business minded, one of the good example: the Movie’s Transformers produced by Hasbro. The company produced in total seven size classes: Legend Class, Scout Class, Deluxe Class, Voyager Class, Ultra Class, Leader Class and Supreme Class. I understand they are targeting different age of groups but many of the characters alone was produced different set of colours in a same class. Many of the collectors have been thinking of Hasbro trying to suck all his costumers’ money. In the contrary, many of the loyal collectors has switch to others toys that they felt more valuable and collectable.

This is the Master Class Generation 1 Optimus Prime, a collectable toy has been produced in  four different colours. The original colour on the left, white, black and gold colour.

Note that same colour of Master Class Optimus Prime, left hand side was produced by Hasbro, right hand side produced by Takara Tomy. The only noticeable different is the exhaust pipe on the shoulder is shorter by Hasbro. The Takara Tomy version has more accurate in length.

Web link – http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Size_class

Web link – http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2014/12/03/my-top-ten-favorite-toys-for-2014/

Web link – http://www.thetoyinsider.com/expert-reviews/

Web link – http://www.youngexplorers.com/ShopCategory.aspx?ID=9,243

Web link – http://www.youngexplorers.com/ShopCategory.aspx?ID=9,244

Web link – http://www.youngexplorers.com/ShopCategory.aspx?ID=9,245

[accessed 21 Dec 2014]

IKEA’s Lufsig Uprising

Lufsig designed by Silke Leffler was inspired by the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood”. In December 2013 the toy became a symbol of opposition to the Hong Kong government. It was an incident during a town hall event where a Lufsig was thrown by a protester at Chief Executive CY Leung (who had been nicknamed “The Wolf” by his critics). Some others people accused him as “Wolf in sheep’s clothing”. They are using the Chinese name of Lufsig as “路姆西”(can be misinterpreted as “Lou Mo Hai” in Cantonese meaning “Mother’s vigina”). The action of “throwing at you” as “丟你”same pronounced as “Fuck you” in Cantonese. So “Throw your Lufsig” would be “𨳒你老母閪” (“Diu Nei Lo Mo Hai”), which can be translated as “fuck your mother’s vagina.” This is a common slang where Hong Kong people usually trying to express their feeling in extreme unsatisfied or hatred. Not long after the incident, CY Leung posted a picture of himself together with a Lufsig that IKEA had officially changed the Chinese name to “路福西”. As “Lo Fook Sai” meaning “Good fortune”.

The meaning of the name is so much powerful that it can be attack or give prosper to someone. Perhaps I could use these methods as a hidden meaning or symbol that can apply on my character name, of course with good meaning for the children. It should be meaningful as a daily reminder for children as they play along with the toys.

Web link – http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/31/world/asia/ikea-lufsig-hk-restock/

[accessed 20 Dec 2014]

Web link – http://hongwrong.com/lufsig-hong-kong/

[accessed 20 Dec 2014]

Textile Designer to Character Designer

I was looking further down into IKEA Foundation, I noticed that every year, IKEA created a children book based on soft toys designed by Silke Leffler. Together she produced the children book together with the award-winning Swedish author Ulf Stark. Since she has textile design background, she has a typical style where she implements a lot of textile craftsmanship, using a well-designed flower pattern and texture collage making amazing piece of artworks with a very British feel I might say so. Yet the painting technique with the colours combination was amazing, the pastel feel, the water colour and colour pencil method create such a very simple, calm and yet eye-catching. I really love the stylized and the overall presentation of the artwork, graphical but still with realism elements merging together.

Web link – http://www.pinterest.com/karrieknesal/silke-leffler/

[accessed 20 Dec 2014]

Best Gift for Vulnerable Children

It has been a difficult time, struggling to decide the main direction. Finally, “Designer Toy” came into my mind when I have my research progress on FAT1. Found a meaningful campaign from IKEA Foundation, soft toy for education, together with the organizations “UNICEF” and “Safe the Children”. IKEA Foundation will donate 1 euro for every soft toy or children book sold. The fund will go to the children’s education projects in 46 countries. Spreading the love and educating the young generation for a better future.

The IKEA video advertisements I found it was a brilliant way to utilize the true stories to sell the soft toys. In the scene is beautifully crafted as a bedtime story, the environment lighting was in low key to tell a night time and yet the spot light focused on the story teller. The vivid red sofa chair is so match for the Christmas season to give a very warm heart feeling. The subject looks tiny but it gave me a huge impact to me. Every soft toy also has a true story to tell throughout the videos list.

For “Designer Toy”, it has to be look adorable. Animal category is the key, as I already choose “dog” as the main character design. I would like to choose some others supportive animal like, “cat” and “chicken” where they are commonly can be found in my country especially small town or so called “Kampug” in Malay. “Kampung” chicken is one of the favorite choices for dishes because of the taste and texture is much better quality.

Web link – http://www.ikeafoundation.org/soft-toys-2014/

Web link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNx0MHP_LCE

[accessed 20 Dec 2014]