Participatory Design Process
Smashbug was inspired by collaborative workshop with kids ages 5-14, where I worked with them to imagine and develop their own toy products in a toy design lab. Smashbug was thus born out of an understanding of what interactions, concepts, and stories that kids 5+ really enjoyed. Smashbug prototypes were tested and iterated upon with feedback from kids and adults alike.
Extensive Mechanical Prototyping, Experimentation, and Testing
I worked pretty hard to get the mechanism for the toy perfect - even going to far as to invent a new kind of mechanism that relies on internal rubber bands to create friction for a delayed pop-up effect (see video for more!).
