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CHIARA BORTOLI
Animix
Individual Project - 2021 - 12 months
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Blender - Maya - Autodesk Fusion - Substance Painter
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Work in progress - Check my Instagram for updates!
Overview
The Animix is my current honours capstone project and is designed to tackle the plastic pollution and childhood consumerism caused by the toy industry. The product is a revolutionary toy trading and game subscription service which utilizes a circular ecosystem and teaches the importance of sustainable behaviour and environmental preservation. Animix toys are cute animal models which can be separated into 2-3 individual parts with 'powers' associated with each part base off the real characteristics of the animal. These parts can be mixed and matched, resulting in unique creations with unique powers. These toys can be uploaded on the Animix app where children can play their creations against eachother.
Design Processs
// Research
The development of this product began with extensive primary and secondary research including surveys, interviews and retrospective protocols. From this it was discovered that the toy industry is contributing to the development of consumerist behaviour in children, leading to the consumption of excessive toys. It was also discovered that the average person is unable to successfully disassemble toys and toy packaging for recycling, thus, many toys are sent to landfill once they reach their end of life, with many of them entering riverways leading to the ocean.
// User and Context
The primary user group of this project are children aged between 6 to 12 years old. However, from research it was discovered that parents are also an important stakeholder in toy purchasing and informing the behaviour of children. It was found that the majority parents strongly agree that their children have too many toys than they need. This excessive consumption stems from the purchasing habits of parents, more materialistic parents creates materialistic children. Thus, the Animix is designed to create attitude change in children and parents through education and knowledge.
// Product Development
After conducting research development began to create a design solution based off the key findings and design criteria. The Animix emerged after extensive research revealed the importance of a circular life cycle and attitude change in product sustainability. Environmental education was incorporated by making each toy an endangered animal, with the Animix app providing a 'profile' for each animal with information about why they are endangered in a format suitable for children. Additionally the oppurtunity for excessive toy consumption is reduced by the release of one 'exclusive' toy part per month which can only be attained by sending back parts which are unwanted or unused. The parts are made from HDPE coloured plastic, meaning they can be easily converted into pellets and used to produce the exclusive parts.
Learning Outcomes
Circular life cycle
Recycled materials
Environmental education
Childhood attitude and behavioural change
Reduction of consumerism and excessive accumulation