For this research portion of the project we choose to focus on children, specifically two of my youngest cousins whom I often babysit for.
A little background information: Jack is ten and his favorite toys are his skateboard, bike and PS2. Leah is seven and her favorite toys are her trampoline and her American Girl Dolls
A little background information: Jack is ten and his favorite toys are his skateboard, bike and PS2. Leah is seven and her favorite toys are her trampoline and her American Girl Dolls
When I introduced the Bit-Bits to them I was focused on finding out what interested them about the toys. I asked questions about the colors, textures, shapes, names and what could make the product better. Both kids really liked the name of the toy. At first they both gravitated to the shiniest pieces. Without telling them their purpose it was quite evident that the pieces we viewed as singular items, each shape was its own entity and combining them with the magnets created a 'scene' of sorts- a penguin and a tree, a marshmallow and a mans face. They were very interested in creating a narative. The silver piece was a gun, the smallest piece was a mouse.They suggested the idea of them coming in a set before I mentioned anything to them and quite liked the idea of getting one you could draw on and personalize...and they insisted it must be washable so you can make many different drawings. Once I suggested the idea of combing many piece to make one creature Jack caught on quite quickly, making all sorts of different creatures yet Leah (who is three years younger) never grasped that concept- to her they were always separate.
About ten mintues into this activity it was aparent that Jack was much more interested in the magnets than the toys themselves, although they both liked the texture and softness of all the pieces. Jack then suggested that we try them on the fridge. At this point the piece developed themselves more as a game than as just a toy. Now they were each tossing them to see who could get their Bit-Bit to stick on the refigerator. Leah had a 'fashion show' with all the pieces walking down the fridge like a catwalk. She then attached a few and I suggested the idea of it being a necklace, which she liked very much, although at this stage of development it wasnt very easy to do. After playing I asked the kids if they could think of another shape that would work- Jack suggested a 'U' shape explaining it could be hair, legs, arms, a smiley face. I then asked what could make the toys better as a whole and Leah showed me a Barbie toy she has where everything is magnetic- you stick magnetic clothes to a magnetic paper doll and put her in different scenes...very neat.
3 comments:
It may be interesting, and another aspect that can be used to fuel the imagination, to create some kind of shape that is a pouch were all the toys can be stuffed into. I think of that ridiculous Puppie Surprise stuffed animal that I had to have and played with for 5 seconds. The thrill of not knowing how many puppies I was going to have, if they'd be a boy or a girl, and what color they'd be was really exciting and I think thats really want caused the craze. That kind of anticipation and surprise could be an interesting thing cause attention to your proposal and separate it from existing toys that can connect in different ways.
It seems that your current issue is that you have a lot of compelling elements - color, texture, shape, but perhaps you should apply an overarching narrative as your cousins were compelled to do. I think this could lie somewhere with in your connections. It would be really nice if you could connect multiple ones and build an all encompassing structure. I know multiple magnets are a technical issue so perhaps there should be a secondary connection, like hook and eye or snaps. This will provide options for how you connect the pieces and make it possible to think of them as parts of a whole. It may also make the interactive part a bit more compelling, as many people could combine collections and come up with a lot of interesting variations.
The research you did and the outcome of it is really inspiring. You guys should definitely think about creating more of a shape for the bit bits. Maybe not a specific shape, but maybe just adding shapes that are easily held by a child's hand. I saw that most of your shapes were round and 'fat'. Maybe think about making them thinner, cylindrical shaped.
Post a Comment