Overview
Felt Theater is the teaching toy aimed at aiding children in learning sequential story telling. Through colorful felt cut outs of characters, backgrounds, and props, children can build scenes and piece together storylines while theatrically presenting to their peers! It can also be used by teachers as an assistive tool in telling stories in a visual, dynamic manner.
Constraints
Timeline: 6 weeks
Type: Individual project
Project Description: Develop a new product idea that could be pitched to Hearthsong or Alex Global. Consult with your advisor along the process.
Weeks 1-2: Concept Development
After reviewing the toy companies we were given, I developed a few ideas that fell in the range of their toy lines. I was especially inspired by paper theaters that are used for story telling; they only tell one story per roll, though, so I created a more kid-friendly, reusable one and followed through with it.
Weeks 3-4: Prototyping
I spent time figuring out how this idea could be made both simply and efficiently while still conveying the form I wanted. I primarily used cardstock and cardboard for the first models, before moving onto PVC pipe to make the rotating columns and paper in place of the felt sheet.
Week 5: Fleshing out Final Concept
I designed a carrying bag for the theater; since the pieces were all soft, they could be stuffed into a drawstring bag with the main body. A kid would definitely stuff all the pieces haphazardly in, at least.
When thinking about how this could be developed further, I considered that sheets with premade characters and backgrounds could be useful for children who wanted to try out making their own stories. Similarly, for teachers there could potentially be the retelling of known stories in different ways. There could be sheets of licensed characters available for sale.
Weeks 6: Final Model