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Overview

Toy Product Design is a MIT Public Service Center learning design course offered in the Spring semester. This course is an introduction to the product design process with a focus on designing for play and entertainment. At the end of the course, students present their toy products at the Playsentations to toy designers, engineers, elementary school children and the MIT community.

In this course, students work in small teams of 5-6 members to design and prototype new toys. Students work closely with a local sponsor and experienced mentors on a themed toy design project. Students will be introduced to the product development process, including: determining customer needs; brainstorming; estimation; sketching; sketch modeling; concept development; design aesthetics; detailed design; prototyping; and written, visual, and oral communication.

Suggested Readings

Ulrich, Karl T., and Steven D. Eppinger. Product Design and Development. 3rd ed. Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2003. ISBN: 9780072471465.

Scott, McCloud. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York, NY: Harper Paperbacks, 1994. ISBN: 9780060976255.

Ashby, Michael, and Kara Johnson. Materials and Design: The Art and Science of Material Selection in Product Design. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002. ISBN: 9780750655545.

Sutton-Smith, Brian. Toys as Culture. New York, NY: Gardner Press, 1986. ISBN: 9780898761054.

Bee, Helen L. The Developing Child. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994. ISBN: 9780065017373.

Norman, Donald. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Every Day Things. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2005. ISBN: 9780465051366.

Grading

There will be one lab instructor assigned to each of the six lab sections. Individual lab instructors assign the grades for all students in their section. Instructors collaborate to ensure that there is equitable grading between lab sections. Half of the total grade is based on individual work and the other half is based on teamwork. Class and lab participation grades are based on both attendance and quality of in-class activity.

Calendar

The calendar below provides information on the course's lecture (L) and lab (Lab) sessions.