Reviews

REVIEW 04 
September 8^th (Wednesday), 12 noon.
Panel : Kalpana, Matt,

Form of the manual as a folder. How the narrative will play out… User considerations like how the content is shiftable. Sequencing / adding to the story with more inserts etc need to be looked at.

Looking at sequencing in stages... An easier thing bout one toy put forth and more added on to it later. Example: a toy could just begin with a mascot or narrator creating some kind of rhyme about it… Then understanding its basic working… Then constructing the toy itself and finally going back to the story element.

A mascot or narrator? What kind of character would children identify with?

Some of the toys don’t fit with the mat concept – relate them back

Visual language should be consistent – but how to bring difference to the repetition in the style and layout?

Choose a style which children prefer. A style that also fits with the cut, paste, play nature of the activities.

Use photographic images of the product or the toy in context to create an attraction to making the toy.

Play up the sustainability aspect. More relevance to today’s context.

Check out: The Guerrilla Art Kit by Kelly Smith, How to make Books by Esther K. Smith

DELIVERABLES:

- Continue developing style and road testing worksheets.

- Look into materials and costs

- Business model

NEXT REVIEW : SEPTEMBER 20^th (Monday) at 9:00 am.
 
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REVIEW 03
August 19^th (Thursday), 12 noon.

Panel : Sudipto, Matt,

Understanding the role of the facilitator in the workshops. What will the activity be like without the facilitator? Will there still be interest from the child?

A cultural shift – the facilitator needing a different motive than the child.

What is the real motivation for the child to engage in this activity?

Who is the real audience… The parent or the child?

The real motivation being that of the parent. Reach the child through the parent.

Manual for child involves his/her involvement.

Changing a narrative to contemporize it. More relatable to children now-a-days. Parents and teachers having insights on the interest area for different age groups.

What are the children into and how does it inform the narrative?

Instructions aimed more at parents. Looking at encouraging them to facilitate.

DELIVERABLES:

-Workshop with children with no facilitator present. The manual is the facilitator.

-A spread or two to take out and get insights on from parents / teachers /. Children. (Action Research)

 -Style considerations.

-Narrative and toy sequencing in narrative. 



NEXT REVIEW : AUGUST 27^th (Friday) at 9:30 am.

From the Panel:

3^rd Diploma review.

-       Priyanka has conducted several short workshops with a range of age groups, sequencing the toys so they relate to one another.

-       The number of children (18) was a challenge.

-       What is the ideal number of children for these workshops? What is the ideal age group? Different toys with various levels of complexity?

-       It is important that you articulate understandings/ conclusions from these workshops – what are the possibilities/ pitfalls that need to be considered?

-       It was suggested that Priyanka focus on one particular age group.

-       Do narratives work for the 8-10 year olds? What are children of this age/ gender interested in? How can this inform the narratives you create?

-       Do-it-yourself/ narrative driven toys for kids with or without facilitator?

-       Try things on kids without you being there. What do you observe?

-       Can you afford to shift to the stand-alone toy? How many kids can really do these activities on their own? Not just intelligence but also motivation are important.

-       Materials need to be easily accessible.

-       Stimulate the parents to stimulate the child.

-       How do you work against/ with these huge ‘cultural shifts’? (Video games/ digital etc.)

-       Do children still entertain themselves today or do they expect to be entertained?

-       How to contemporize these products? What is the ‘hook’ or ‘trigger’? Is it the narrative?

-       Adventure – It’s about finding the unknown.

-       What is the visual language of the digital/ a video game?

NEXT STEPS

-       Next round of workshop where kids interact on own/ and or with adult.

-       Talk to parents and teachers – people who understand children. Show them developments. Your product needs to continually be ‘road tested’ for feedback. To find out what works/ doesn’t work.

-       Iterations developed through/ informed by research understandings.

-       What visual styles do your users respond to?

NEXT REVIEW: Friday 27^th August. 9.30 am.

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REVIEW 02

July 30^th (Friday), 11:30 am.
Panel : Sudipto, Matt, Kalpana.

Looking at the workshops and sessions through the facilitator – the entire sessions centralized around a magician (the facilitator)

An attitudinal shift in the person conducting the workshop. Not A teacher but a fellow-experimenter.

Focus on translating the facilitator into a story medium where the child is taught through the narrative and the instructions.

Focusing on the actual narrative and the process on how it could come together. Looking at a broader theme for the story.

Decision making in terms of age group, toys, categories etc.

Looking at different mediums in which the narrative could be displayed – books, pop-ups etc. Creating a landscape for the toy.

Looking at the actual final product – deciding on the target audience. A rural/not so well off urban vs. urban elite. Justification for choosing a certain sector and the limitations of the end product.

Experiment with narrative. Use a single toy (maximum two or three) and create a narrative surrounding it. Put together a few spreads / experiment with the form it could take. Make physical prototypes.

Look at illustration styles, collage etc. relevant to the mediums.

DELIVERABLES:

-Decisions on the toys being showcased in the narrative.

-Decision on the age group of the target audience.

-Compile and conduct workshop.

-Create multiple narrative prototypes with a single toy.

NEXT REVIEW : AUGUST 19^th (Thursday) at 12:00 noon.

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REVIEW 01

July 14^th (Wednesday), 11:30 am.
Panel : Sudipto, Matt, Kalpana. 

A focus on the exact role of the project as well as my exact role in the project.

The communication of the toy will determine the toy itself.

Looking at already existing modes of communication – concentrating on the theory of play and interaction.
Focusing on the merging lines between work and play. Enhancing that through the mode of communication.

Looking at workshops / education modules / sessions that depend on the magic of the communication alongside the activity in order to hold the interest of the audience. (Possible visit to a workshop conducted by Arvind Gupta).

Interaction and communication material at different levels – the urban audience vs. the rural audience /elite vs. affordable for everyone / driven by age groups.

Creating a style of communication : almost like a template which could be applied across the entire range.

Adding layers to the final communication material – Beyond A manual and instruction kits. Possibly driven by a narrative. Looking at options in terms of the form it may take (book, electronics driven, supported by audio).

Concentrating on the eventual role : extra curricular activity - group vs. indiviual.

Looking at the economic model of the project. (Client clarification).

DELIVERABLES:

- Clarifying expectations with client

- Categorizing/ studying existing toys for workshops

- Research play theory/ interaction theory

- Add other layers to and focus project

- Get a clearer picture on the final communication model

- Understand economic model

NEXT REVIEW : JULY 29^th (Thursday) at 11:30 am.