Mr Wood: Wooden Toy Set

by Yin Ni

Hero shot of the wooden toys, including all forms.

Simulating the effect: “Mr. Wood” placed in a children's room.

Project Description

Nowadays, there are many toys children can choose from, but the rates of reuse and recycling are low. The project uses a research-through-design approach to develop an assembled toy with an lifecycle that improves on that of current products, reflecting the intention to increase use and recycling. This product can help children complete an instructive and straightforward toy assembly and connect with the educational purpose of the toy as they play with it. The main form of this toy is three different pieces of children's furniture; children can also express their imagination and creativity and construct a toy of any exciting shape.

The purpose of the product is to provide a new choice of brand–shape for the current wooden toy market for children aged 6-10, to enhance the interaction between parents and children and meet educational needs, combining the advantages of wooden toys and furniture.

The entire toy set supports children in assembling three different forms: a children's easel, a petite wooden horse, and a small stroller. Through many optimizations and improvements, the entire model is mainly composed of three types of parts: wood panels, bolts and nuts, and right-angle fixers. The dimensions of the components are adjusted for children to ensure that children can quickly fix different panels with only their hands.

132 parts are contained in the entire “Mr. Wood” package.

Different colour schemes for customising.

Bio

I am currently studying for a bachelor's degree in product design. I am committed to researching related products that can improve user experience. The internship experience in several industrial design companies and research institutes helped me improve my professional ability. Improving the user experience of products and improving our lives from the perspective of the surrounding environment is one of my goals, and I intend to produce more valuable ideas and continue to perfect my skills in my future work.

When I began to design this project, I realised that creating a toy can't only express my aesthetics and design philosophy. It should start from the perspective of parents and children and understand their actual needs and demands. Therefore, user research and market research accompanied the entire design development process. Through interviews with kindergarten teachers and children, the prototype is constantly adjusted based on user feedback.

previous project / next project

2021 bachelor index