Toy Product Design 2.00b
Instructors: Steven Keating, Geoff Tsai,
and David Wallace
Lecture: M W 3:30-5:00 PM, Room 3-370
Lab: W 7-10, R 9-12, R 7-10, or F 9-12, Room 35-307
Credits: 3-5-1
Overview . Readings/Materials . Instructors . Weekend Workshops . Play Testing . Grading . Schedule
Course Overview
Toy Product Design is an introduction to the product design process
with a focus on designing for play and entertainment. It is a project-centric
class. Students work in small teams of 6-7 members to design and prototype
new toys. Students will be introduced to various design topics, including:
brainstorming; estimation; sketching; graphic design; drawing and marker
rendering; sketch modeling; concept development; design aesthetics;
prototyping; and written, visual, and oral communication.
USB Flash Drive - 2 GB or higher
Design Notebook - unruled and robust like the Moleskine
Plain Large Notebook
Drawing Kit - to be discussed in lecture
Suggested Readings
Karl Ulrich and Steven Eppinger - Product
Design and Development - (library
link)
Scott McCloud - Understanding
Comics
Donald Norman - Emotional
Design
Further Reading
Michael Michalko - Thinkertoys
- (library link)
Kritina Holden - Universal
Principles of Design
Scott McCloud - Making
Comics - (library
link)
Donald Norman - The
Design of Everyday Things
Nancy Duarte - Slide:ology
Johan Huizinga - Homo
Ludens
Mike Ashby - Materials
and Design -
Brian Sutton-Smith - Toys
as Culture
Instructors
There will be one lab instructor and one mentor assigned to each team.
Lab instructors are professors, graduate students, or industry representatives
that have a strong background in product design. Mentors are undergraduates
who have previously taken Toy Product Design and have shown great interest
and skill in the subject. Some instructors can be found in room 3-452
and 3-458. The course administrator is Chevalley
Duhart and she can be found in room 3-435.
Weekend Workshops
Every Sunday from 1-4pm throughout the semester we offer optional
workshops to learn additional design tools and techniques. These
workshops do not influence grade, but we strongly suggest them to students
that are interested in expanding their design abilities. The workshop
content is directly applicable to what is happening in lecture and lab
each week. Workshops are taught by course and lab instructors and include
topics such as: Advanced Sketching, Basics of Electronics, Casting and
Mold Making, Photoshop, Illustrator, Keynote, Advanced Solid Modeling
and Silk Screening.
Play Testing
Feedback is essential to the design process and when designing for children,
it is important to play test the ideas. The Boston Children's Museum
and the MIT Museum have graciously allowed Toy Product Design to play
test ideas and prototypes with their visitors. Throughout the semester
we have arranged for several visits to these museums to present our
work and get children involved in the design process. These dates are
listed in the syllabus.
Grading
Individual lab instructors assign the grades for all students in their
section. Instructors collaborate to ensure that there is equitable grading
between lab sections. Approximately half of the total grade is based
on individual work and the other half is based on teamwork. Class and
lab participation grades are based on both attendance and quality of
in-class activity.
| Class Participation | Individual | 15 |
| Lab Participation | Individual | 15 |
| Brainstorming Assignment | Individual | 5 |
| Idea Presentation | Individual | 5 |
| Individual Sketch Model | Individual | 5 |
| Team Sketch Models | Team | 10 |
| Final Presentation | Team | 15 |
| Final Prototype | Team | 20 |
| Design Journal | Individual | 10 |
| Date | Class/Lab Theme | Additional Info |
|
| Feb 8 | Wed | Toys and Course Overview | Lab Selection and Permissions |
| Feb 9 | Thurs | Meet and Greet | 9-Noon, PDL 35-307 |
| Feb 10 | Fri | Meet and Greet | 9-Noon, PDL 35-307 |
| Feb 11 | Sun | "Objectified" | 2-4 pm, 3-370 |
| Feb 13 | Mon | Play | |
| Feb 15 | Wed | Brainstorming and Innovation | |
| Feb 16 | Thurs | Hasbro Design and Engineering Visit | 9am-3pm |
| Feb 21 | Tues | Theme Introduction | Brainstorming Assignment |
| Feb 22 | Wed | Sketching and Drawing Technique | Bring Drawing Kits |
| Lab | Team Brainstorm | First Official Labs |
|
| Feb 27 | Mon | Sketching and Rendering | Drawing Assignment |
| Feb 29 | Wed | Graphic Design and Visual Information | |
| Lab | Concept Selection and Poster Design | ||
| Mar 5 | Mon | Finalizing Posters | |
| Mar 7 | Wed | Idea Presentations | During Lecture, 3-370 |
| Lab | Shop Intro and Safety | ||
| Mar 11 | Sun | Play Test | 1-3 pm, Children's Museum |
| Mar 12 | Mon | Sketch Model Techniques | |
| Mar 14 | Wed | Sketch Model Techniques | |
| Lab | Sketch Model Construction | ||
| Mar 19 | Mon | Estimation and Energy / Sketch Models | |
| Mar 21 | Wed | Estimation and Energy / Sketch Models | |
| Lab | Sketch Model Presentations | During Labs, PDL |
|
| Mar 23 | Fri | Play Test | 6-8:30 pm, Children's Museum |
| Apr 2 | Mon | Design Aesthetic | |
| Apr 4 | Wed | Play Testing | 3-5 pm, MIT Museum |
| Lab | Concept Selection | ||
| Apr 9 | Mon | Skills Week | Solidworks / Thermoforming |
| Apr 10 | Tues | Casting and Mold Making | 7-9 pm, 3-370 |
| Apr 11 | Wed | Skills Week | Solidworks / Part Finishing |
| Lab | Sketch Model 2.0 Construction | ||
| Apr 13 | Fri | Arduino Workshop (slides) | 5-6 pm, 3-370 |
| Apr 18 | Wed | Design Consulting | During Lecture, classrooms |
| Lab | Prototyping | ||
| Apr 23 | Mon | Plastics and Manufacturing | |
| Apr 25 | Wed | Portfolios | |
| Lab | Prototyping | ||
| Apr 29 | Sun | Photoshop | 12-1:30 pm, 3-370 |
| (clean up a sketch, tools info, demo file) | |||
| Apr 30 | Mon | Presentations | |
| May 2 | Wed | Presentations | |
| Lab | Prototyping | ||
| May 6 | Sun | Keynote and PowerPoint | 1-2 pm, 3-370 |
| May 7 | Mon | Presentation Prep | |
| May 9 | Wed | Presentation Prep | |
| Lab | Presentation Prep | ||
| May 14 | Mon |
Practice Presentations | 5-10 pm, 10-250 |
| May 15 | Tues | PLAYsentations | 7:30-11 pm, 10-250 |
| May 16 | Wed | Class Wrap Up | Design Notebook Submission |