1. DIPLOMA PROPOSAL
Pallavi Manchi
Visual Communication Design
Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology,
Bangalore
Contact:
pallavimanchi@gmail.com
+91 98459 79 799

2. PROPOSAL 1: INTERACTIVE TOY DESIGN
Design Brief
This project intends to design toys/games/spaces
for urban children to better learn about the environ-
ment and materials around them. These aids intend to
facilitate the substantial use of the children’s cre-
ativity and imagination.
Background:
The idea arose in the course of a two month workshop
with Finnish artist and interaction designer Anders
Sandell. This lab involved researching play patterns
of children from various socio-economic backgrounds.
This research resulted in gaining certain insights and
areas of enquiry. Some of these insights are:
• Limitations in geographical spaces creates
dependency on media and technology
• Middle and Upper-middle class children in urban
cities are highly exposed to popular media, which
tends to result in a more passive engagement with
their surroundings, leaving a lot of potential to
one’s own imagination and creativity untapped.
Need:
From the research gathered, there is a clear need for
sensitizing children in urban environments to:
• A tactile and physically active mode of interaction
and play.
• Richer engagement with narrative/storytelling to
facilitate imagination.
I chose to propose this as a diploma project, as my
previous experiences in this area has inspired ideas
in me that I feel have potential that hasn’t been fully
explored. I intend to use my skills as a visual commu-
nication designer, to explore toys and play patterns in
an urban Indian context to bring about higher levels
of interaction, effective knowledge sharing and of
course, serves the simple purpose of fun and pleasure.
Pallavi Manchi | Diploma Proposal: Interactive Toy Design | Page 01/03

3. Research Questions
• What are the influences of a given milieu on chil-
dren’s learning and play patterns?
• How can children better engage with the natural
environment in the process of play?
• How can we create toys/games that aid discovery
and learning, creativity and imagination? (peda-
gogy)
Approach/Process
Research and exploration:
• Toys and the toy market in urban environments
and their differences with that of a rural one.
• Understanding learning and playing patterns of
children hailing from different socio-economic
groups in urban spaces.
User participation through workshops:
• Understanding the needs of the user and the
related parties involved.
• Facilitate the users in engaging with the process
of conceptualization
• User testing: usability and usefulness
• Workshops with craft communities to explore the
potential of the crafts in prototyping.
Prototyping and Conceptualization:
Ideating and prototyping toys/games/spaces that are
affordable and suited to needs, and that involve the
use of local art and craft communities and materials.
Resources
• Spaces: Educational institutions like Mallya Aditi
International school and neighborhood children
• Films and Books
• People: Interaction designers, Storytellers, spe-
cialists in the fields of teaching, environmental
studies, the arts and crafts sector, etc.
• Studio space and feedback from Anders Sandell &
Michelle Cherian
• Organizations like Sutradhar, AmritSagar Chari-
table Trust etc.
Pallavi Manchi | Diploma Proposal: Interactive Toy Design | Page 02/03

4. Learning Outcomes
• To gain rich insights about my users and their needs
• Gain a deeper understanding of the toy market,
pedagogy, materials, narratives and methods of
education.
• To learn ways of effectively using different disci-
plines of design to create a holistic solution.
• To engage in workshops and to find methods to
facilitate user groups.
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