Bunny Sprout
February 3rd - March 6th, 2020 | Product Design
Project type: Group - Nadine Lowden, Liam Wong, Carrie Zhou
Completed for: Bachelor of Environmental Design, Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, Department of Interior Design | 2nd year
Programs used: Photoshop
“Toys are not really as innocent as they look. Toys and games are preludes to serious ideas.”
-Charles & Ray Eames
This project, completed for a second year design studio, asked students to design a toy using an original bio-material.
Much of the project was spending cooking up outlandish experiments in the kitchen. Myself and my two group members tested ideas using potato starch, orange and grapefruit peels, rice, and agar-agar. We dehydrated, ground, mixed, baked, boiled, stretched and molded.
The final material, named Bio Sculpt, is a clay that is molded into shape then baked until hardened. Bio Sculpt is made of used coffee grounds, shredded paper, water, flour, cornstarch, salt, olive oil, and cream of tartar.
Bunny Sprout, a small bunny rabbit molded from an upcycled and compostable material, is a child's first introduction to gardening.
Inside the bunny is space to place a flower bulb, following which the whole bunny can be planted inside or outside. As the form breaks down and the flower grows, ingredients of the material decompose as fertilizer.
For younger children, a narrative collage and comic were developed to accompany the toy. The narrative outlines the story of the bunny, taking care of his plants in the summer, burrowing and planting a tulip bulb when the weather gets cold. The bunny remains underground to tend the blooming tulip as it grows.
This story both helps to explain why the bunny needs to be planted and creates a sense of magic and wonder to get younger kids excited about planting and growing things.
A NOTE ON GROUP WORK
Myself and my two group members worked together through every stage of this project. Drawings/collages are my own unless otherwise noted. All work attributed solely to other group members is credited in image captions.
