Weekly Assignment 3

User: My sister

The reason I chose to design a toy for this person is that she is my closest family member. My sister has always been very kind to me, so when I needed to design a toy for someone, she was the first person who came to mind. Interviewing her about her preferences was a very interesting process. Although she is already in her twenties, she still has a childlike heart. She loves plush toys, cute things, magical girls, and dreams of becoming someone amazing.I realized that I had never considered what kind of person my sister is from these perspectives before. It seems that neither of us is very clear about our own preferences, and when discussing these questions, we both took a long time to think. I believe this is what makes designing a toy for someone so fascinating—it allows them to understand themselves from a new perspective and then have something tailored to their unique interests. This was a precious and meaningful exchange.

Interview: 

• what do they like to do: traveling, lie down 

• what animal/object/colors does they like: cat; plush, perfume, milk tea, jigsaw, pop mart; pink, purple.

• what do they do for living: teacher

• what are their hobbies: photography, citywalk, cooking

• what toys do they have or had they liked to play the most: LinaBell

• what skill do they want to develop the most: being a magical girl

Idea 01: Book of Magical Traveling 💫📖

My sister loves traveling and dreams of becoming a magical girl. However, she doesn’t have much time to travel, and becoming a magical girl is impossible. This gave me an idea—I plan to create a magic book that allows time and space travel.

This book is a soft toy. The outside appearance of it is pink with a magic circle. A magical girl sits on a floating magic wand, attached to the book. When you open it, your journey through time and space begins.

• Page One: The Aegean Sea
  Upon turning the first page, you arrive at the Aegean Sea. This page displays a breathtaking ocean view, with European-style white buildings perched on rocky cliffs. On the side, there’s a small hidden button—pressing it releases a soft ocean-scented perfume, enhancing the sensory experience with both sight and smell. In the upper left corner of the scene, there is a small spot for the magical girl to "stand," as if she has truly arrived.

• Page Two: The Enchanted Meadow
  The second page opens to a fairy’s meadow, filled with storybook cottages, tiny fairies, and wildflowers. Pressing the button on this page plays a piece of soothing music, bringing the scene to life.

Since each scene requires detailed crafting, the book can’t be too thick, so I still need to decide on the rest of the destinations.

Idea 02: Starry Portal Cat 🐱✨

A soft, magical plush toy that can be a portal to different dream worlds!

The cat plush is a round, squishy cat plush with a across its body, wearing a tiny, detachable magical cape and wizard hat.

The cat’s belly is a "portal" (a zippered, plushy screen) that changes scenes every time when you turn the inside out. Each "scene" is a different dream destination (like a pop-up storybook but in plush form). The scenes may include a cozy bookshelf, a celestial tea house, an underwater kingdom, or a fairy garden. When you press the cat’s paw, and it will play a soft, mystical sound (like wind chimes, harp notes, or a dreamy magical girl transformation sound).

Idea 03: A wave-making machine🌊📦

This idea might be difficult to create in plush form since it requires some mechanical components. I plan to make a box, with a soft toy shaped like ocean waves supported by wooden rods on the surface, connected to the internal mechanism. On the side of the box, there will be a rotating handle. When you turn the handle, you can control the rise and fall of the waves, just like a sea that moves according to your command.