Designing Toys with a Greater Purpose
By Sarah Stone
First-year fashion and textile design students at the Wilson College of Textiles are learning that good design means design that contributes to the greater good.
The most recent project assigned to students in their first-year studio course hallenged them to develop a stuffed animal with a purpose – improve the quality of life for children with a specific set of needs. For some groups, this meant helping toddlers develop fine motor skills. For others, it meant providing a calming mechanism for children with Tourette Syndrome.
Each team had to research that need and provide a specific, verified way that their stuffed animal could help the group. Next, each student within the group designed and prototyped a stuffed animal that accomplished the team’s goals and fit within the team’s identified aesthetic.
Below, learn about some of the products students designed to help children through play.
Stuffed Animals designed by first-year FTD students
Click photo to expand.
This shark toy, created by Alexa Nguyen Karrenbauer, helps 12 to 18 month-olds with fine motor skills. The mouth acts as a container/pocket! This shark toy, created by Alexa Nguyen Karrenbauer, helps 12 to 18 month-olds with fine motor skills. The mouth acts as a container/pocket! This bunny toy helps children with Tourette Syndrome. The toy includes embroidered mazes that children can follow with their fingers, ranging in textures and difficulty to reduce the effects of a tic episode in anxious or exciting situations. It was developed by Mark Saber. This bunny toy helps children with Tourette Syndrome. The toy includes embroidered mazes that children can follow with their fingers, ranging in textures and difficulty to reduce the effects of a tic episode in anxious or exciting situations. It was developed by Mark Saber. This bird toy, developed by Amanda Cease, helps children with ADHD through appealing texture. This bird toy, developed by Amanda Cease, helps children with ADHD through appealing texture. This koala toy, created by Shayleigh Larsen, aims to help children with ADHD learn to tie their shoes through the stuffed animal’s laceable feature. This seal toy, created by Henry Tran, helps children who are visually impaired.
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