This project involved designing a toy using rubber bands and one additional material. The toy, named Flipper, was inspired by a childhood memory of playing with frogs in the forest with my sister.
The memory and persona
My special childhood memory is from when my little sister and I were in the forest one spring day playing with frogs. Based on this memory, I designed my persona who then became my little sister, she is very energetic and goes to preschool. She loves all kinds of toys and likes to spend time with her friends and family.
The Feeling
To get a rough context of the feeling I wanted the toy to give, I made a number of mood boards for Simple, Natural and Babyish. The three mood boards shown below are a collection of images that I think describe the feeling I want to achieve.
Motion study
In order to get legs on the frog, I investigated how the legs of frogs move through a movement study using a video from National Geographic. I made lines that showed the different parts of the legs in motion and then tried to make sketches that worked in a similar way to the frog's legs.
Sketches
In order to visualize the legs in a good way, I made a number of sketches, both on details and whole concepts. What I stuck with the most was a body that was more horizontal and legs that had the rubber bands on the outside to show the mechanism and make it easy to take the rubber bands off and on so they wouldn't wear as much.
Selected concept sketch
I chose this concept because it uses a body that I think reflects the mood boards that I previously produced. The fact that the legs have a locking mechanism means that you can choose when the frog should jump. the legs became a bit more of a mechanism that jumped straight up instead of straight forward.
Prototypes
To see if my sketch concept would actually work, I built a number of prototypes that brought me closer and closer to a final result. The first prototype I built in a thin cardboard and lighter wood. The first two prototypes had a different mechanism for the legs because I tested several options in case the one I had chosen didn't work. In the later prototypes I used a little lever that locks the legs. When the lever is then released, the legs went around the body and caused the frog to land upside down. I then needed to add a small bracket that could lock the legs to the body in a better way. These two jumps are shown in the videos a little further down. I showed the last video to a classmate who thought I should name the frog Flipper, because it flipped when it jumped.
Video with loose legs which made the frog land strangely.
Video with fixed legs causing the frog to do a somersault and land well.
Final prototype
With a finished and working prototype it was time to make the final version of the frog. I did that by making new parts based on the parts in the prototype. I polished the new parts and oiled them in the university's model workshop. In the next picture, all the parts that are included in FLIPPER are shown and in the collage below that, some studio and contextual images are shown.
Packaging
In addition to making a finished model of the toy, a package would also be made, which shows how the toy looks when you buy it. I googled a ready template for the box and then made some small adjustments in Illustrator to then laser cut out the packaging. I also made the green details in Illustrator and cut out with a sticker machine.
Lines for laser cutter
Jump series template
Template for the name
Side view template
FLIPPER and the packaging
How Flipper is assembled from the box.
Lessons learned and feedback
In this project, I have learned a lot of new things, such as sketching and evaluating the sketches. Building prototypes and improving small details to make the parts work. I personally think that FlIPPER was very good and funny, my little sister thought so too. I think all the parts turned out well and the face turned out as I had intended and I thought it fit with my previous mood boards, but as feedback I got that I should have made the face more realistic and that the legs were more of a functional solution. As for the face, it had to look like this in order for the frog to do a volte around its center of mass, the legs are just a jumping feature with the rubber bands on the outside to show the whole mechanism.
I think FLIPPER was a super fun project where I got to learn lots of new things and finally got to produce a functional and stylish concept.
