moore is a series of soft geometrically shaped felt panels and connectors designed for artistic exploration for role playing that also trains dexterity — both mentally and physically.
Other than creating a pattern on the felt panels, the strategically perforated slits provides affordances for the connectors to connect the felt panels together in different permutations, hence, provides unrestricted possibility of play.
The felt connector and slit system trains children’s hand dexterity.
Children having fun role-playing as animals, fully utilizing their imagination
Why a build-able costume play kit?
While there are many children building toys that promotes free play and per-fabricated costumes that encourages imagination and role playing, there is a missing market with build-able costumes.
Hence, we felt that this might be an interesting and meaning opportunity space to further explore on.
The design process
Several prototypes were made to actualize our ideas. We then user test it with adults and children, and observe how they play with the prototypes.
Critical insights were gained from these user testing session:
i: complex shape of the felt panels and the lack of affordances limits their imagination
ii: string and felt system was too complicated for our target children age.
With the insights gained, we decided to use basic shaped felt panels instead of overly- designing the shape of the panels.
We also redesigned the connecting system, which allow for more permutations.
The new design system involves inserting felt connectors into the slits of the felt panels, locking them in place.
The size of the slits were experimented, to allow for easy removal of the felt panels when dismantling the creations
Simpler the better
We then tested out the newly designed felt panel and connector system. Our observations and feedback from both the children and their teachers proved that this system allowed for more possibilities in which the children can connect and build their desired costume.
moore hence encourages imagination. The children can be anything from a tribesman to a crocodile.
Felt as material
The felt panels are soft and flexible to ensures safe play but yet rigid enough to hold it’s shape.
The slits can also be easily cut out using laser cutter for prototyping, or die-cut for mass production.
