MONSTER
Mad Monster Maker
Mad Monster Maker is a teaching toy that integrates motor skill development into play for children over the age of 3. The toy aims to improve fine motor skills and dexterity through finger interactions for play.
Role
Solo Designer
Tools Used
Bambu Lab X1E, Fusion360, Adobe Suite,
KeyShot Studio
Timeline
Sept - Oct 2024
Project Brief
Design a fun toy that teaches an important learning concept that is age appropriate for young children. The toy must be designed to be age appropriate, fun, and fit the scale of the child.
Overview
Mad Monster Maker integrates fine motor skill development into a construction toy for children around the age of 3+. It aims to improve fine motor skills and dexterity through finger interactions during play. Components of the toy include limbs to assemble the monster, a bed to store all the limbs, and a spinner to guide the gameplay.
Gameplay (1+ Players)
Each player takes turns spinning the spinner. The spinner has 5 limbs and 1 option called Restart. The goal is to spin to all the different limbs, attach the limb the spinner lands on, and build a full monster without hitting Restart. If the spinner lands on Restart, the player must disassemble all the progress made so far and try again from the beginning. The spinner gameplay was created to provide guided play, but the toy can also be constructed freely.
Development
Developing my product began with loose ideation sketches and then refining those concepts with consideration of gameplay and teaching.
Research
The initial step for this project involved researching developmental milestones for children and considering what teaching component to incorporate. After age 3, children begin to engage in cooperative play and develop more complex dexterity. To encourage these attributes, I decided to include motor skill development as the teaching skill for my toy. Promoting creativity in children was another key attribute I wanted to build on.
Concept Sketches
Selected Concept
I selected the idea of Mad Monster Maker and continued to develop its gameplay and visual design.
Final Concept
I developed the final visual concept of Mad Monster Maker to create a more approachable, fun, and colorful appearance. Since the design involved many loose limbs that can be attached according to the child's play, I decided to create a housing element for the toy that can be played with too. The theme and visual story centered around monsters led me to create a bed for the limbs to go "under." I also created an optional guided gameplay that involves spinning a wheel to decide which limb to attach.
Prototyping
3D Modeling
The 3D model of the concept was created on Fusion360.
3D Printing
I printed my prototype using PLA filament.
Foam Modeling
Parts of the bed housing were created using yellow modeling foam.
Finish & Assembly
The parts were sanded, primed, and painted individually before assembly.
Final Design
