Blending Blocks
Project Summary
This project was sponsored by PlanToys, a world-renowned toy company known for their sustainably made wooden toys. I was part of a multidisciplinary team of 5 students from different fields of study, and we spent the semester developing several toy concepts with PlanToys' essence in mind. My primary responsibilities were form development, concept visualization, fabrication, and composing a narrative for our products. Blending Blocks was chosen as our primary concept, and we eventually produced and presented a final prototype to PlanToys.
So, what are Blending Blocks? Essentially, they are primary-colored tangram tiles/building blocks. When the pieces are stacked together, they look akin to a stained-glass window. Blending Blocks come with a set of play cards that illustrate different puzzle combinations that vary in difficulty, with a total of 4 difficulty levels. The puzzle game combines the challenge of stacking and fitting shapes together with using the fundamentals of color theory. With 11 different shapes that come in 3 colors, there are endless possibilities for free form play as well.
This page summarizes me and my teammates' design process for developing Blending Blocks (i.e. research, user testing, design for manufacturing, marketing, cost analysis, and so on).
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Retrospective
To me, Blending Blocks exemplify a toy that can be enjoyed by any generation for many generations. They're a toy that transcends demographic boundaries. With their educational value, beautiful craftsmanship, and numerous ways to play, they are wonderful.
Whether you're teaching a child about colors and shapes or playing with an older adult who has dementia, Blending Blocks offer enrichment to every age group.
