Objective: To create a toy for a child between the ages of 3 and 5.
I began the project by visiting The Boston Children's Museum and local toy stores. I wanted to observe children playing naturally and to assess the current toy market for any areas of opportunity. I decided that I wanted to explore a gender neutral character play. After doing so, I chose to explore the importance of music, companionship and self expression for children of this age. The next step was to create a short story and storyboard to develop the characters. I then moved to 3-D development, working with 6" scale blue-foam models. With these I developed the gesture, the expression and the overall form of Mungoo and his friends. Simultaneously, I created a working xylophone, maracas and mallets to prove my concept. The finished product is a 30" white-foam model with 6 mallets.
