For my thesis project, I decided I wanted to play on the elements of design that I feel most connected to. Personally I love working with my hands and designing in 3 dimensions. I have always admired designers and artists who could bring their design of the page and into the physical realm. This project was my way of bringing my love for creative engineering and the toys that inspired my love for design into the field I plan of perusing.
My process started with a long research call with my mother, who has been teaching kindergarten for over 30 years. Not only is this project dedicated to her, but it was in her classroom that I got to use some of these toys for the first time. The toys were selected to represent an evolution of creative learning, but also what I thought were excellent examples of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) promoting toys I wanted to include in this system. Each box went through 3+ revisions, along with countless paper models and drawings. Box sizes and mechanics changed constantly through the project, allowing me to explore the consistency of system elements along with unique issues that needed to be resolved for the unique toys. Together the system is an interesting and unique toy box that allows as much play with the boxes as the toys they hold.
