Collectible toy research - Plush collectibles

Plush collectibles are soft toys which are designed in a quirky manner so they appeal to people who want something different.

Designs that appeal to me

A Shane Geil design. The use of eccentric humor works well as not many people would think a roast chicken plush would work but it shows thinking outside does sometime work to its advantage. 

Collectible toy research - Blind box toys

Blindbox toys were researched.

Blind box products that appeal to me

Floxy by Patch Together

The shape of this toy is very appealing to the eye along with the bright colours used.

The resound field guide

The paint applications are very nice due to the indentations being filled with a darker colour.




Collectible toy research - Fast food collectibles

Mc Donald's Woody toy comparing to the original Woody doll

These toys are mostly a static figures very much like a vinyl toy. These toys can become collectible due to the rage which is created. Sometimes the toys created are a simple version of another product.

Collectible toy research - Cereal box toys

These toys are often poorly made from plastic or often rubber based. These are placed boxes for selling purposes.

Vinyl toy research - Simple vinyl



MADL

This is one of the most simplistic vinyl toys. MADL by Jeremy Madl is a two component two which consists of body (formed arms) and head. The design can become any character.

 A toy doesn't always have to be a 'human' style object or an animal, this is shown by company STANCE.

Vinyl toy research- My thoughts

Munny

Designs and Designers that appeal to me
The design is suppose to loosely represent a monkey but i feel this design is very neutral as it has the foundation to be anything you want it to be. This design is aesthetically pleasing which is the most important trait in a vinyl toy.

Joe Ledbetter design

As this is a pre-painted product the paintjob is one of its strongest traits. The 'cell shaded' look of the toy appeals to collector as it makes the detail stand out and has a 'comic book' feel to the design.

KR- Bentworld vandals

Coolrain-NBA

A character created out of an object such as a marker pen which has been designed in an urban manner.                                                      

Proportions are exaggerated in this toy yet it still shows it is designed to look human. This toy is very detailed in the face comparing to other vinyl toy designs which have less features or no face at all.

Michael Lau's style is urban and unique. The designs aren't just toys but a piece of art. He mixes all his skills of being an artist,illustrator,toy and fashion designer into one when designing his toys and shows in his final products. 

Collectible toy research - Vinyl toys

One of the most popular collectibles in this modern toy culture. Vinyl toys are Urban vinyl ar static figures which are aesthetically designed.

'Play' and 'Collectible'

‘Play’ and ‘Collectible’

What these words mean to me

I believe the word play is associated allot with the word ‘fun’, this is because the feeling of having ‘fun’ usually happens when a person or people are in play. I feel that play brings happiness and helps the mind generate ideas. ‘Play’ is opinionated as all people think different. One person’s perception of ‘play’ could be different to another’s.  I feel that our opinion of ‘play’ changes as we grow up, this is due to liking different activities as the mind matures.

A product doesn’t have to be labelled as ‘collectible’ for someone to collect an item. I feel its more about whether a product appeals to a person that much that they buy more to create a type of ‘collection’. Therefore a collection is created by mistake. Comparing to this a product can be designed just for its purpose to be collected. Collectibles can also be a type of object that has value to the owner or someone else in the future.

Brief Decided!

Here is the brief which I wrote myself by using the mbrela project brief as a guide line. It's based on 'Play' and 'Collectible toys'.

University of Lincoln

‘Play’ – Collectible Toys

Blog : Ongoing detailing of research and development for a ‘New type of collectible toy’ product.

Blog must encompass;

Design Ideas: A series of ongoing design thought strands that are appropriately communicated in a professional and realistic manner. The ideas should be both wide ranging and relevant.

Design Development: To develop a collection of products in concept form. These developments must be thorough and go as far as material choices and manufacturing techniques. This stage must include appropriate visualisation, graphic visuals, model work – sketch model, and prototypes.

PROJECT BRIEF/ OCTOBER 4, 2011

‘Play’ – Collectible Toys

Observe the collectible toy market and what toys are out there classed as ‘collectible’.

Analyse how collectible toys are designed and how they look on the market now. The type of style used in the design of the shape. The characteristics they bring to the environment they are placed in.

Propose scenarios to describe the life of the product created. What happens to the product after it serves its purpose? Construct narratives based on your observations and classifications to uncover and express the relationships between the product and user.

Create ‘collectible toy’ concepts in a way that a new line of toys could be created in the future. Can the product create a new look in the environment it’s placed in? Can this new line of toys start off a new trend?

Design a product or a series of products which could potentially work itself into the collective toy market. The designs should evoke thought and reactions about the word ‘Collectible’.

Objectives:

The objects are to use materials carefully, wisely, as though you will be questioned about every millimetre of thickness, or every second spent in manufacture. Additionally, the product(s) you design should leave less of an imprint on the environment during any point or all points of its lifecycle.

The product(s) designed should show an aesthetic appeal to its user and its surroundings as this should be a ‘show off’ product.

The objects must be able to be manufactured inexpensively to very high performance and visual standards. Your knowledge of how objects are made should be evident in your solutions.

Consider the packaging design of the product(s) designed as the product and packaging should act as one. The packaging should be a part of the collection.

 Recommended Constraints

Consider using one material, one process, one part.

Consider the size of the product, not too big that it doesn’t suit an environment but not too small that it goes unnoticed.

Consider the relationship the material has to the value of the product over its full lifecycle and to the end-of-life path.

Consider aesthetic value of the product and how this interacts with its user.

Consider the affect this product could have on the market and if it would be ‘accepted’ in the genre it’s going into.

Work produced

Design work and thoughts about the project will be documented on blogger.com. This should include any notes made, any quick sketches, and research over taken throughout the project. A notebook should also be produced for any ideas which need thorough research. Most of this notebook should also be documented on the blog.

Moving away from mbrela project

I decided to move away from the mbrela project as i felt it didn't suit me and what type of design i wanted to go into as a career option. I want to look into toy design and will design a brief around this. This brief will be decided in the next couple of days.

mbrela - Honesty and simplicity

What Honesty and Simplicty mean to me

To me honesty and simplicity are alike in many ways as they both link to the word “basic”. I feel honesty is more about whether you trust that the product is what it states as the product itself has to show honesty in the way it’s presented. For example if the product shows its use in the way it looks then this shows the design is honest as no questions have to be asked to what the product is or how it operates. Honesty is more about showing what the product has to offer and doesn’t deceive with any fancy or complicated gimmicks.

Simplicity to me is more stripping the object down to its bare essentials and keeping everything modest and plain, less is more. Designing an object to be simple can affect many aspects such as the shape, the colours used, materials, and sometimes the way it’s manufactured. I believe that a product with a simple appearance can instantly be thought as cheap but sometimes this is not the case. For example a product could look very basic yet be a very expensive.