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Toy Product Design

3-5-1 units · Undergraduate

Provides students with an overview of design for entertainment and play, as well as opportunities in creative product design and community service. Students develop ideas for new toys that serve clients in the community, and work in teams with local sponsors and with experienced mentors on a themed toy design project. Students enhance creativity and experience fundamental aspects of the product development process, including determining customer needs, brainstorming, estimation, sketching, sketch modeling, concept development, design aesthetics, detailed design, and prototyping. Includes written, visual, and oral communication. Enrollment limited; preference to freshmen.

Spring 2021

_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 offered in the Spring semester. Students work in small teams of 5–6 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.

Spring 2008

Toy Product Design is a {{% resource_link "5f34dfc1-5b45-4c87-b197-0bd051f9e11b" "MIT Public Service Center" %}} service learning design course offered in the Spring semester. This course, previously listed as SP.778, is an introduction to the product design process with a focus on designing for play and entertainment. In this course, students work in small teams of 5-6 members to design and prototype new toys. Students work closely with a local sponsor, an elementary school, and experienced mentors on a themed toy design project. Students will be introduced to the product development process, including determining customer needs; brainstorming; estimation; sketching; sketch modeling; concept development; design aesthetics; detailed design; prototyping; and written, visual, and oral communication. At the end of the course, students present their toy products at the Playsentations to toy designers, engineers, elementary school children and the MIT community. For more information about this course, see the {{% resource_link "574e693b-97fc-4616-9974-4cd1634e694c" "2.00B Web site" %}}.

Readings

  • McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art . New York, NY: Harper Paperbacks, 1994. ISBN: 9780060976255.
    Required
  • Norman, Donald. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Every Day Things . New York, NY: Basic Books, 2005. ISBN: 9780465051366.
    Required
  • Ulrich, Karl T., and Steven D. Eppinger. Product Design and Development . 3rd ed. Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2003. ISBN: 9780072471465.
    Required
  • Ashby, Michael, and Kara Johnson. Materials and Design: The Art and Science of Material Selection in Product Design . Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002. ISBN: 9780750655545.
    Listed reading
  • Sutton-Smith, Brian. Toys as Culture . New York, NY: Gardner Press, 1986. ISBN: 9780898761054.
    Listed reading
  • Bee, Helen L., and Denise Roberts Boyd. The Developing Child . 10th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2003. ISBN: 9780205340989.
    Listed reading
  • Miller, Carolyn Handler. “Tackling Projects for Children.” Chapter 9 in Digital Storytelling: A Creator’s Guide to Interactive Entertainment . Burlington, MA: Focal Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780240805108. (Paperback)
    Listed reading

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: None U (Spring) Not offered regularly; consult department 3-5-1 units

Sources