PODZ

Overview

Most of us have a tendency to personalize our immediate environments. Not only does this provide an outlet to express to who we are, it helps us feel comfortable in the space we inhabit. Consequently, this sense of ease allows us to focus on our tasks, thereby increasing productivity levels.

While toys frequently perform such a role for the adult consumer, they can clutter up living spaces easily or get lost in the clutter themselves. This project is a look into how we can implement a solution that combines toy and storage elements for a general work environment.

My role

My role in this project was to help in the development of the storage element itself, and how it interacts with the toy. I was also tasked to map out possibilities for branching out and adding value as we develop the line.

Concepts

As we were implenting a toy into a work setting, the vessel that holds it has to act as an anchor, and bridge the gap between fun and work. As much as the toy should be playful, the vessel had to be sensible in order for the product to not present itself as tacky or childish.
We wanted to portray the image of someone who is in touch with their fun and childish side, but is professional enough to keep it contained while they work. Thus, the silhouette of the vessel should be sensible, mature but not boring.

We began our exploration by examining sensual curves from different products in the market, and building our container profile from there.

Concept Development

We started modeling in 3D after narrowing down our choices to more streamlined designs. After making some adjustments to accommodate ease of production, and general ease of use we arrived at a design we felt satisfied the criterias we wanted to achieve.

Interaction with toy

We've always had the idea to let the figure exist within the container. As the design of the container started to take shape, we realized it would also be good if the figure could exist outside of the container. This interaction greatly improves the storage functionality of the container while providing our users the option to 'expose' their fun side to the world.