C.H.E.E.S.E.

Jackie Guerrier, Finn Mayeux, Andrew Perticone, Wyatt Gold

Wyatt

Forest Couch

Ari Sinert, Orion Orozco,

Spencer Sarkis, Victoria Wright

Final Review

May 8th, 2024

Forest Couch is a nature themed installation meant to facilitate play between children and adults. Forest couch is a large hexagonal play area with removable pillows and flower themed upholstery. The interior of the couch is a space for a kid to spend time alone and facilitate solitary play. The exterior is for a parent to sit and play with their child.

Headboard Pegboard

By Jade, Luke, and Calder

Headboard Pegboard is a modular play system designed to be an addition to a bed. The kit includes a pegboard frame as well as a variety of attachments for kids to freely rearrange and play with. This projects enables kids to have greater agency over their surroundings and add a creative element to play.

Fable

Kai Hershey, Sam Hague, and Mia Kelley

Final Review

May 8th, 2024

Cardboard 101: Cutting, Shaping, and Joining

Kate James

PROTYPING

Cardboard 101

Structural Cardboard

Paula Garza Gonzalez

Structural Cardboard

Imaginary Friend Furniture

Ryan Ferguson

The project titled "Imaginary Friends" addresses the growing concern of children in modern, often single-child families in Asia becoming too reliant on technology for companionship. The initiative reimagines furniture as interactive playmates that engage children in traditional games like hide and seek and rope skipping, aiming to replace tablets and iPads as primary entertainment sources. While the furniture in motion is designed more as a satirical and slightly melancholic commentary on loneliness and the lack of sibling interaction, its primary goal is to evoke emotional reflection on the diminishing human connections in an increasingly digital world. This project seeks to highlight the importance of emotional investment in children, who represent the future, urging society to reevaluate the effects of rapid technological advancement on the youngest generation.

https://www.designboom.com/project/imaginary-friend-furniture-in-motion/

Balloon Furniture

Ryan Ferguson

Kingston University graduate Fern Toynton has innovated self-assembly furniture and toys with her "Inflate" kit, which uses sausage-shaped party balloons as the primary means of construction. The kit includes beechwood slats with pre-cut holes, designed to be secured by inflating colorful modeling balloons through these holes to form flexible, nail-and-screw-free joints. Toynton, a product and furniture design alum, emphasizes the playful aspects of both the assembly process and the final product, aiming to make the construction engaging and conducive to teamwork among children. This method not only reduces screen time but also fosters creativity by allowing children and their families to explore various non-load-bearing furniture possibilities. The kit comes with an instruction manual that encourages experimental building, leveraging the inherent flexibility and temporary nature of the balloon joints to engage children in creative play.

https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/30/balloons-replace-nails-screws-for-inflate-childrens-furniture-collection-design-graduate/

The Active Classroom

Ryan Ferguson


Dutch designer Studio Lancelot has developed the "Active Classroom" collection, a series of four innovative stools for primary schools, designed to promote frequent changes in seating positions among children. This initiative aims to enhance both muscular diversity and concentration levels by encouraging students to adopt various postures throughout the school day. Each stool is uniquely structured to support multiple sitting positions, requiring active engagement from the children and promoting the use of muscles that remain inactive in traditional seating. This concept, driven by studies showing the health risks of prolonged conventional sitting, has been shortlisted in the workplace design category of the Dezeen Awards 2020. The project is part of a broader research effort by Lancelot, in collaboration with the Free University of Amsterdam and the University of Groningen, to create healthier classroom environments.

https://www.dezeen.com/2020/09/10/school-chairs-active-classroom-design-children-studio-lancelot/

Students from Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Germany have unveiled a playful children's furniture and lighting collection at Milan, featuring innovative designs like house-shaped beds and stackable lanterns. The collection includes the Woken Up bed, designed as a "theatre" with a fabric-covered pitched roof and built-in toy storage, the Kipp and Clear table with a blackboard and hidden storage, the Make Way! bookshelf with removable sections for creative play, and the On/Off lantern in various sizes and colors. Each piece is crafted to spark children's imagination and interaction through play.

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/04/24/burg-giebichenstein-university-art-design-german-students-children-furniture-milan-design-week/