As someone who has always cared for the ones who couldn't verbally express discomfort, this sustainable playset featuring 3 main characters aims to teach kids about farm animals and empathy. Design and developed for my grad school course under the guidance of Chris Lyons.
MIDJOURNEY EXPLORATION
Under the guidance of my professor, I explored the amalgamation of two artists - Oskar Schlemmer and Jamini Roy. Their painting styles are different, yet similar. They both treat the human body as a very simplified form of the real thing, while being rooted in completely different visual traditions.
INITIAL SKETCHES
For my playset, I settled on three animals - pig, cow, and sheep. Drawing from the AI visualization, I sketched the initial forms for the aforementioned animals. The one on the right being the finalized shape.
PATTERNS & COLORS
After deciding on the overall form of the animal, I got working on the pattern that was going to fill up the animals core, as well as the color palette. Although the pattern was inspired by Oskar Schlemmer's work, I wanted the colorway to scream 'CIRCUS'.
Yes, they are often portrayed as horror elements in contemporary media, but historically clowns and circuses have been a place of wonder and joy.
3D MODEL & RENDER (ANIMALS)
I modeled the animals on Blender. Instead of UV unwrapping for the pattern, I added 3D elements to add a sensory aspect to them.
Their names are Inky, Pinky, and Ponky respectively.
3D MODEL & RENDER (ANIMALS)
To accompany the animals and the dollhouse-inspired barn, I also designed 3 play kits to act as extensions to the original play pattern. They include the following a dairy, mushroom, and vegetable set. Besides being an extension, each playset also has an educational feature built into it.
.png)
.png)
BRANDING & MERCHANDISE
The second part of the brief was to design its identity and the accompanying collaterals. For the logotype design, I chose a simple yet playful font, further experimenting with the rotation, vertical height, and spacing to give it a more dynamic feel.
Additionally, I designed a package for each animal (with repetitive elements featured on their body), a mug, wrapping paper pattern, and a tote bag.
