OUGD601 COP: INTERACTIVE OBJECTS

Initial photographs

Toothbrush tassels:
The idea with this object was to make brushing your teeth more fun, with the addition of movement and different textures. The different colours of the tassels also provide the opportunity to learn about the different colours, and the stripes on one of the tassels can teach children about patterns as well.

Phone case:
This idea was based around making technology more interactive and tactile. This phone case includes a tail, a kind of hair mane, and a pocket. The pocket provides actual practical use, whilst still adding extra detail and textures with the beading. This is a product for older children, as toddlers are not old enough or have the need for a phone. This therefore means the interactive elements have to have more purpose, and can't be about teaching them about colours or textures as they should already ahve this knowledge by the time they have a phone.

Glasses tassels:
This is a similar idea to the toothbrush, in that the tassels make wearing glasses (which some children dislike) more fun and playful. The same as the toothbrush, the tassels add a level or movement and different textures to a static object, and provide the same opportunity for learning about colours and patterns.

Shown: the tassels can be used as something to fiddle with when reading or writing.

Initial sketches
These initial photographs were then portrayed into sketch form, alongside a few other additional products that weren't photographed. This was for the purpose of including them in an article about play, to illustrate the point about play being important and an essential part of a child's development.

This product is in addition to the photographed ones, and is a topper to go on the end of a pen to make writing more fun. This also gives them a writing buddy as well to keep them company. The tassels as hair also shake when you write with it, which give children a reward the more they write. The smiling face also encourages children along.

Close up of the pen topper face looks a little creepy with the stitching so clear.

It was difficult to get the detail in the beading on a 2D format, as beads are very small and intricate. 

This is an addition to the photographs, and is a small scale blanket with holes in for children to put their heads through, so they can wear and interact with it in different ways. On it is sewn different shapes in different materials and colours. This is to teach children about the different shapes, colours, textures and patterns. 

Brusho experiment
The initial idea for colour application was a rough and imprecise appearance using watercolours or Brusho, however when this was experimented with the colours were too dark and bold, and it was very difficult to control whilst still appearing relaxed and spontaneous so you could still see the outline definition clearly.

Digitised
The initial sketches were then transformed into digital illustrations to make them a lot cleaner and bolder, and also for the easy application of flat, bold colour as well.

Different colour ways were experimented with the pen topper, whether black and white, accurate colours based on the object and pen I modelled it with, or if more experimental colours should be used to make the illustration more lively. 

Similar colour ways were experimented with another illustration for this object. Looking at the colour ways the version with the green hair and white body works the best as it highlights the object itself the most, whilst providing a unisex colour way that is still bold and vibrant. 

The phone case was a little trickier to achieve as the majority of the illustration was the screen of the phone which is naturally quite dark. To counteract this the lighter shade for the case background works best as it helps to create a lighter appearance.

The back pocket beads don't seem to stand out as much as they possibly should do, however this could just be to trying to produce a simple illustration you naturally lose detail.

A real effort was made to make the glasses tassels as vibrant as possible, and this definitely works with the addition of the red and blue stripes. Tow different colour ways were tried to experiment, and the top one is the most effective as the tassels get lost in the glasses colour blue in the bottom experiment.

The toothbrush takes on the same colour ways as the glasses to ensure continuity and consistency. 

The next stage will be to choose an appropriate article for these illustrations to be placed within, to illustrate the points being made within the article.