LUMI F I NA L M A JOR P RO J E C T DA N I E L L E - A L E X A N D R I A M AW AD6702
C ON T E N T S INTRO 4-5 I N S P I R A T ION 6 - 9 COVID-19- 10-11 2
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INTRO TO LUMI 12-19 E L E M E N T S OF P L AY 2 0 - 3 9 DA N I E L L E M AW- D E S I G N E R “I wanted to alter the uncconsious bias of how we (Adults) think children should play and unwrap their own immagination and sense of discovery. “
SUMMARY 40-46 B I B L IO G R AP H Y- 4 7
When we think of education in children, we usually think of the national curriculum set by the school board or education that takes place under the guidance of educators. We often overlook the importance of learning in our day to day lives and the significance of learning through play as a child, and even as an adult! Play observations are not only seen in humans but almost all infant mammals learn through play to some degree. Bob Hughes
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
wrote “playwork was about helping the species to survive extinction and adapt to change, by ensuring that wild adult-free play in diverse environments was still a choice for its children”. [1] Children all learn differently and at different paces. For this product to be educational it was important to think beyond what is expected of children academically and consider education from a broader perspective. Not just
The purpose of the project was to create
the acquisition of specifc skills required by adults.
a multifunctional children’s product that
Children learn through play, increasing their cognitive and motor func-
can both entertain and educate children.
tions as well as their socializing skills. The freedom in which children have to play impacts their overall lives in regard to independence of play, their personal experience and their interaction of the world around them. Without these vital skills children can experience mental health issues, such as anxiety and low self confidence in early adolecence and adulthood. It is crucial to give children the freedom of play. To find balance within themselves in a world of uncertainty.
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I N S P I R A T ION
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Inspiration for this product initially came from play observations. A group of young, primary aged children were observed over the course of 4 weeks. This was to gather as much information as possible of how children play. What their preferences were, which elements of play were favourable and if there were any common themes and occurrences. Research was fundamental to this project. For Lumi to be a success, knowledge on how children play and what they like to do with and without adult supervision was paramount. This was quite a difficult task with Covid-19 restrictions and most observations were done with parents and through interviews via teams and facetime with the children.
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The types of play that were observed and documented in the children through the observations were based on “The taxonomy of play types” in which Bob Hughes identifies 16 types of play that children display in normal development. The principles of the project were to give children more freedom during and post pandemic and this research helped form an insight into how children interact with one another and the world around them. It was noted that the more elements of play a toy or object have, the more likely the children will interact for longer, without getting restless or bored. This became the foundation for Lumi, to hit as many play elements as possible!
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The older children were interviewed and asked what they wanted out of the project. It was important that the research was very much child orientated. Essentially, Lumi was made for children, by children!
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T H E I M PA C T OF COVID-19 During the course of research it was noted that a number of the different types of play were restricted to the children because of the covid-19 outbreak.
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Covid-19 has disrupted all of our lives over the course of the year, especially young children. During the first lockdown children were isolated from their peers and schools were shut down. Not only did this have an impact on their education but also had a detrimental effect on their physical and mental wellbeing. Although Covid is not to be taken lightly, there should be a balance of risk and the benefits of play and social interaction longterm. Lumi was designed to help ease the pressure of lockdown. To makethe world seem less daunting and to possibly bring some of these elements of play back to the children. Even if only with their imagination!
“I felt empathetic towards them. Despite being resilient, a lot of them were dealing with loneliness and isolation. They’ve had very little time to socialise with their friends this year or to explore their independence with ongoing lockdown restrictions”- Designer
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SO...WHAT IS
LUMI?
Lumi is a box, that’s not a box, that definelty is a box, but not really...it’s a box that’s not a box! Lumi is a versatile, adaptable child’s toy built on a child’s imagination! It can be anything the child imagines!
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What better way to learn than exploring ones own capabilities and creative power?! It is a box! (Kinda). Why?...How often have you seen children take out a toy and play with the box instead? To a child that cardboard box is not just a box. That box is an aeroplane, a train, a dolls house, a car, building blocks...The possibilities are endless to a child!
With children restricted to their homes, unable to see friends and family, it was important to keep their minds occupied. The intention was to create an indoor product that had many play elements to keep the children entertained during this pressing time, that could also be used everyday! With Lumi’s adapatable shape, the toy can be used in many different ways. Like having a new toy everyday! There was a lot of possibilities of what Lumi could have been. It could have an indoor climbing frame, it could have been a shape shifting piece of furniture, it could’ve been a slide for the stairs... Lumi was designed with a more practical and safe approach!
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F E AT U RE S ...
CURVED EDGE DESIGN NO SHARP CORNERS S PA C E S AV I N G ADAPTABLE V E R S AT I L E NO HARMFUL CHEMICALS OR FINISHES WIPEABLE DRAWING PAD CURVED CARRY HANDLE WINDOWS FOR TUNNELS, CARS, TINY HANDS AND PUPPET SHOWS . . . . . . A N D, M O S T I M P O R T A N T LY. . . F U N ! . . . WITH WHEELS!
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RECYCLE REUSE REDUCE Lumi is made from natural materials. The shell of the product is made from birch ply. Birch trees cause minimal destruction to the environment with their fast growing nature and abundance. Birch ply is also recyclable and reusable. If the product is scratched or damaged it can easily be sanded and repainted, glued and mended! Not only that, Birch is extremely hard wearing. Which is great for boisterous children! This was intended to reduce the amount of toys that end up in landfill. A whopping 80% of toys end up in landfill within the first 6 months of purchase! 90% of those are made of plastic and non biodegradable materials. [9] Even if Lumi becomes irrepairable, the materials used are biodegradable and will return back to earth in time. The colour stains used are water-based and child safe. They’re non-toxic, oderless, VOC free and enviromentally friendly. The product is finished with OSMO oil. This is a child safe, sustainable oil made from natural resources. It’s dureable, hardwearing, water and dirt resistant. It’s none toxic and saliva resistent- Perfect for children’s toys! The chaldboard paint is water-based, none toxic and water based. All the materials used are safe and envirmentally friendly, having minimal impact on the planet. Making Lumi the perfect, sustainable toy!
Lumi is space saving! The design was purposely made so that it could fit under a bed. When researching it was found that a lot of UK homes are quite small in comparison to other countries. A lot of children’s rooms are taken up with an abundance of toys. Lumi offers a solution to this! The small toy can adapt in to many toys, freeing up space by reducing the amount of toys needed to keep a child entertained. At the end of life Lumi can be passed down or used as a storage solution, even perhaps a memory box that a child can look back on. XVII
CHALK BOARD F O R D R AW I N G ! C H OI C E OF FINISHES AVA I L A B L E
ARBOR GREEN AU T U M N G OL D XVIII
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OP E N W I N D OW CA R R Y H A N D L E . NAT U R A L WO O D FINISH
BLUE ASH FLAMINGO S PA N I S H R E D
C U RV E D ROU N D E D G E S / NO SHARP CORNERS! C H OI C E OF F I N I S H E S !
RUBY
E L E M E N T S OF P L AY
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S Y M B OL I C P L AY
“ U S I N G OB J E C T S , AC T ION S OR I D E A S T O R E P R E S E N T O T H E R OB J E C T S , AC T ION S , OR I D E A S . ”
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CREATIVE P L AY
“ALLOWS CHILDREN TO EXPLORE, T R Y OU T N EW I D E A S A N D U S E T H E I R I M A G I NA T ION. ”
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C OM M U N I CA T ION P L AY
“ P L AY U S I N G W OR D S , G E S T U R E S , E . G . , C H A R A D E S , T E L L I N G J OK E S , P L AY AC T I N G , E T C . ”
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DRAMATIC P L AY
“ P L AY W H E R E C H I L D R E N F I G U R E OU T ROL E S T O P L AY, A S S I G N T H E M A N D T H E N AC T T H E M OU T. ”
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SOCIO-DRAMATIC P L AY
“ W H E N C H I L D R E N AC T OU T E X P E R I E N C E S , E . G . , P L AY I N G HOU S E , G OI N G T O T H E S H OP S O R G OI N G T O A R E S T AU R A N T. ”
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I M AG I NAT I V E P L AY
“ W H E N A C H I L D U S E S T H E I R I M AG I NA T ION T O ROL E - P L AY S C E NA R IO S T H E Y H AV E S E E N , E X P E R I E N C E D O R W O U L D LIKE TO EXPERIENCE. IT’S A KIND OF OP E N - E N D E D , U N S T R U C T U R E D P L AY , WITH NO RULES OR GOALS”
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ROL E P L AY
“ P L AY E X P L O R I N G WAY S OF B E I N G , A L T H O U G H N O T N O R M A L L Y OF A N I N T E N S E LY P E R S ONA L , S O C I A L , D OM E S T I C OR I N T E R P E R S ONA L NA T U R E . F OR E X A M P L E B RU S H I N G W I T H A B RO OM , D I A L I N G W I T H A T E L E P HON E . ”
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FA N T A S Y P L AY
“THIS IS THE MAKE-BEL I E V E W O R L D OF C H I L D R E N . T H I S T Y P E OF P L AY I S W H E R E T H E C H I L D ’ S I M A G I NA T ION GETS TO RUN WILD, AND T H E Y G E T T O P L AY OU T THINGS THAT ARE UNL I K E LY T O O C C U R , L I K E BEING A PILOT OR D R I V I N G A CA R . ”
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As you can see, there are lots of elements of play that Lumi has to offer! This was intentional. Through research it was found that the more elements of play a toy has, the more likely it will be to last longer and to get more hours of play out of it. These elements of play can sometimes overlap and intertwine, but each hold significant importance to a child’s development. The possibilities of what Lumi could be are endless to a child!
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SUMMARY Unfortunately, Lumi is still a prototype. There are elements of the design that need to be thought about. The wheels either need to be redesigned with a different placement, or the top box needs to be redesigned to slot the wheels in place.
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There is potentially a safety hazard with the top possibly falling forward. These two design flaws could be resolved with further development. Either with magnetic strips to hold the top piece in place or another a strip of wood being put in to the base to hold the top piece in place and resolve the tipping issue. Time was an issue with the current pandemic and limited time in the workshop being available. I wanted to create an innovative child’s toy that was fun, entertaining and educational. I think I achieved this with Lumi. Although it’s only a concept and not a finished product I believe it has the potential to be a great toy for children. In helping them think outside the box, with a box.
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Going forward there are a few things that I would have liked to have added, had I had the time to do so. The chalkboard paint could also be magnetic. This could add more elements of play, as children could incorporate magnets. Alphabet magnets and numbers, or even create their own. I want Lumi to come ready assembled. Instead of screws, I would have rather used wooden dowels- To make the product completely sustainable. This would also reduce the amount of packaging needed to ship the product safely. I couldn’t imagine the painstaking task a parent would have to go through to build it either. Although for children, the parents were also in my consideration when designing. Hence why I made the product space-saving!
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Although I did make this by hand. The end product would not be made by hand. It will be designed in a CAD package and sent to a CNC to be cut in 18” birch ply. This would reduce XLIII the amount of wood being used and the time in which it would take to produce. The assembly of the product would be by hand though. When developing, I actually changed some of the play elements in the design. I originally wanted a wooden insert to cover the window to be used as a car track. However I felt as though by adding this I was actually taking away the potential of what Lumi could be, by saying what it is. I wanted the children to create their own elements of play. So I took this feature away. Going forward I would still have the wooden insert (If I can find a way to secure this properly. The magnetic strips/paint could be an option here), however I would have painted the whole thing in the chalkboard paint so that the children can create their own stories and elements of play. That could be a car track or it could be anything their imagination dictates. I wanted to give children more freedom and I felt as though it wasn’t my place as a designer to put my own bias on what I thought it should be. It’s for them to decide!
The name Lumi came from my two daughters, Lucy and Emily. It’s their names combined. It was their input throughout the design and developing process that really helped bring lumi together. It gave us something to do together in lockdown and helped bring their ideas, as well as my own to life. The intention was to create a product for children, and who better to assist in the design than 2 children? Lumi felt fitting for this reason. It could also be used as “ILUMInate your child’s imagination” for marketing purposes (Although probably too cheesy!) As an after thought I could possibly design add-ons to Lumi. When my children were playing we often incorporated toys that we already had. However, I could possibly design and make a puppet kit, or have felt inserts to create different scenes and worlds, or little wooden figures with the Lumi brand. If it successfully went to market these could be potential extras and create more revenue.
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Lumi would be a high end toy. With the materials and finishes used it would likely retail between £100-150. Which seems expensive for a toy. However, it is sustainable, space saving and resourceful. If you think of all the play elements it could be (play kitchen, car track, theatre) and how much is spent on all of those toys individually, combined, then it doesn’t seem too excessive. Despite not being able to finish Lumi, or having the time needed to develop further I am quite happy with the product. My children haven’t stopped playing with the prototype since I brought it home and it’s been a massive hit with them so I’m sure it would be to other children!
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BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES 1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/animal-emotions/201202/the-need-wild-play-letchildren-be-the-animals-they-need-be [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 2. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/10/all-work-and-no-play-why-your-kids-aremore-anxious-depressed/246422/ [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 3. https://www.museumofplay.org/education/education-and-play-resources/elements-play#:~:text=Many%20scholars%20find%20that%20describing%20play%20is%20easier,and%20 poise%E2%80%94are%20present%20each%20time%20someone%20plays%20fully. [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 4. https://www.journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdf-articles/6-2-article-elements-of-play.pdf [Date accessed 12/02/21.] XLVI
5. https://www.encourageplay.com/blog/16-different-types-of-play [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 6. https://www.healthline.com/health/the-importance-of-play#:~:text=%20The%20Importance%20 of%20Play%3A%20How%20Kids%20Learn,the%20benefits%20of%20play%20cannot%20be...%20 More%20 [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 6. Template used was used and licensed by adobe stock [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 7. https://allyouneedisbiology.wordpress.com/2016/04/09/play-in-animals/#:~:text=Due%20to%20 its%20complexity%2C%20play%20is%20considered%20as,their%20nervous%20system%20in%20 contrast%20to%20other%20organisms. [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 8. https://www.canva.com/q/pro/?v=2&gclid=18249b1e63cd173c89ebfb822a29b59f&gclsrc=3p. ds&msclkid=18249b1e63cd173c89ebfb822a29b59f&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_ campaign=REV_UK_EN_CanvaPro_Branded_Tier1_Core_EM&utm_term=canva&utm_content=REV_UK_EN_CanvaPro_Branded_Tier1_Canva_EM [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 9. https://www.mygreenpod.com/articles/toys-in-landfill/ [Date accessed 12/02/21.] 10.https://www.barbourproductsearch.info/Birch%20Plywood%20-%202013%20LR-file011497.pdf [Date accessed 12/02/21.]
