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Designer Based in LA

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Zoodles

A Construction Plush Kids Toy

SUMMARY

We designed a sustainable plush children's toy inspired by the classic Balloon Animal

TIMEFRAME

2023- Current

TYPE

Licensed Product

SKILLS LEARNED

Licensing, Prototyping, Rhino 3D, Packaging Design, Manufacturing, Focus Groups, Pitching, Patents

INSPIRATION & THE PROBLEM

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INITIAL IDEATION

We wanted to reinvent the classic balloon animal making it...

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INVITING & INTERACTIVE

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SAFE

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SUSTAINABLE

We thought to make it soft, cuddly, fidget-friendly, and fully customizable, allowing kids to enjoy their "balloon" animals anywhere—whether in the car, classroom, or at home!

SKETCHES

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proposed accessory attachment method:

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ball connected to ring & socket connected to accessory

ball and socket joint allows for maximum rotation

flexible ring fits snugly onto Zoodle

PROTOTYPING

1.0 GETTING STARTED

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Looked phalic, unforgiving twists, fabric too loose, felt wire, not sturdy

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1.1 DIFFERENT FABRIC, WIRE, FOAM

1.2 ENDCAP CONSTRUCTION

1.3 FIRST ACCESSORIES

1.4 ACCESSORY PACKAGING

Breakthrough with fuzzy fabric, creation felt more like stuffed animal

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modeled and 3D printed different accessories packs that could be purchased separately

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prototyped “end caps” allowing users to secure their creations

1.4 PACKAGING PROTOTYPES

2.0 THE PERFECT HAND FEEL

2.1 PROGRESSIVELY CUTER CREATIONS

2.2 ACCESSORY REVAMP

2.3 EXPANDING ZOODLE TYPES

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Tested different foams, wires, and fabrication methods to get best combination of hand feel, pliability, plush, & durability

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Made 1 Zoodle multiple colors to help know where to twist and loop

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Finalized “Mini” & “Pocket” versions

Expansion pack low-fidelity prototypes

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Adults excited about Zoodles too-- expanded demographic to “Kidults”

Parents concerns about the internal wire subsided after feeling Zoodles

Widespread love of reusing same tubes to build something new

Kids 5-6 = simpler creations and loved accessorizing

Kids 7+ = easily followed tutorials & explored complex creations.

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To include everybody in the fun, we labeled animals with different difficulty ranges so builders can be challenged if they choose while also remaining successful with their creations.

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Zoodles follows a design system, like Lego, to ensure each creation can be made with the same set of standard parts.

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