Toy Project Reflection

I think this toy project has gone well because I have enjoyed working in pairs when coming up with unique toy ideas. I have also enjoyed the design element of creating the corresponding poster to our toy idea, here is a link to my poster blog post. Although at the very early stages of the brain storming process, was quite difficult when coming up for a completely different construction toy idea that has not been thought of before.

As far as the toy research, I went to Hawkins Bazaar to see what the toy phase is at the moment and if there is anything on the market that is similar to our 'Watch Craft' toy idea. I also looked online to see if I could find a build a watch kit and nothing came up that was aimed for a younger audience and was instead a very expensive and complicated kit for adult watches. This confirmed that the idea we came up with was to go ahead.

When it came to the animation element of this project, I found the task quite difficult as it is very challenging to make a sequence look smooth and professional. Here is a link to my animation so far blog post.

Something I would do differently if I was given this task again, is to organise before a few starting layout designs for my animation. This would ensure that I have an idea already of how to get started, without wasting time producing other designs on Flash over again and then deleting them. I would also make sure to keep up to date with blog posts every week, so that I am keeping a record of how far I have got on certain stages of the project. It is also helps publishing updates, so that it demonstrates my progress throughout the tasks and how I can improve next time.

Watch Craft Toy Animation

Today I started my toy invention animation for Blake and I's 'Watch Craft' construction set. I used Adobe Flash to create this and here are some screenshots of how far I have got:

I chose a pale colour for the background, as I wanted the clock faces and title to pop, this will draw in the attention of the target audience, which is young children who enjoy bright colours.

The font I used for the title 'Watch Craft' is an appropriate type face, as it fits with the construction theme. This is because it is fairly simple, has structured edges and is clear to read, so that the audience can easily understand.

Here is another image, demonstrating the sequence at which my stages are organised within my toy invention animation. I individually placed each number of the clock face separately, so they would appear in sequence one after the other.

Toy Comparison

I have researched other toys on the market and a lot of them are more technology involving, as children are more exposed to modern day technologies at an early age. This would affect the toy market, as most of the target audience would be interested in more computerised games and therefore may not be focussed on traditional construction toys.

I have taken this into account and have come up with an 'in-between' of sorts. Watch Craft is still a construction/building toy, however it incorporated the technology side without being to complicating for a younger target audience.

Here is another toy already on the market that was the closest I could find to our 'Watch Craft' toy idea:

The similarities of this toy compared to mine is the bright colours used and the idea of making a clock face. However, this is not actually a watch and for the audience, the wearing element of this idea could be a selling point.

The rest that I could find were just ready made children's watches like this:

But not actually a build your own wrist watch kit for children, as a lot of the results were professional kits for adults, here is a screenshot:

For both of these they are not similar enough to compare as they are completely different. So overall this is a unique idea because there is not a simple wrist watch making kit, aimed towards younger children on the market.

Construction Toy Ideas

Today Blake and I brainstormed ideas on construction toys that we could sell. We came up with a variety of ideas, all of which we think has not been created before. For example a bake a build kit, wire string bridge construction kit and jelly mould construction. Although some of these ideas are a little out there and strange, they are certainly unique.

We have decided to go for the construction of a watch, which includes making the band as well. It will be for an older age range, however it will not be overly challenging as it is a toy. Although you can not make a variety of things, you can customise your watch and would not be just one design. The watch band will be made out of small magnets, so it is fairly simple to put together and can be changed for a new style.

For example there would be different designs and colours of watch faces, band magnets, clock hands and more.

Toys & Games- Dance Mixer

This is a picture of the toy/game I picked:

This toy is from Hawkins Bazaar in Bath.

I chose this because if I was younger, this is the type of toy I would be interested in, as I liked dancing and listening to music. (And still do!) The packaging of this product is very colourful and a bright colour scheme is used. This is because the target audience of this toy is aimed at younger children aged 5+, and so they would be drawn to this straight away.

The font is large and is in capitals, again this is to stand out and to attract the target audience. It has an image of the product on the front of the box and not a clear window like a lot of other toys. I think this is because with this certain product it looks better when set up, whereas if there was a window, the mat would have to be folded and therefore wouldn't look as appealing to the child.