matcha playset π΅
"What the hand does, the mind remembers." - Maria Montessori
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This 5-piece playset was inspired by the rising trend of matcha latte on Instagram and TikTok, not just as a drink but also as a ritual. By incorporating Montessori principles, this project is my attempt to translate these actions into a toy that supports a child's motor development skills, cognitive development, and cultural curiosity plus awareness.
ROLE
Industrial Designer
company
College of Art and Design, RIT
CATEGORY
Indoor Play and Playset
responsibilities & contribution
Concept Development, Toy Ideation, Form Exploration, Play Pattern Development, CMF, 3D Visualization, Mechanism & Interaction Design
visual research
Researched existing matcha sets, Melissa and Doug playsets, and other indie toy brands to find the answers to the following questions:
1) How much are real-world objects simplified to make them more play-appropriate?
2) What is the color palette for existing toys in the domain I'm designing (e.g. play pretend, roleplay, imaginative play)?
Rough sketches
Made rought thumbnail sketches of the different components on Procreate.
iterative sketches
Iterated on the chosen components to settle on form.
prototyping
3D printed multiple iterations of prototypes to validate their proportions as toys.
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Bambu Lab X1E, PLA
3d visualization
Final concepts were visualized in Cinema 4D and rendered on Maxon Redshift, using material, color, lighting, and composition studies to communicate the playset as a cohesive product family.
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Cinema4D, Photoshop
