Worlds / World 2 / PRD001 Design Techniques

ANODYNE

A building toy that doesn't hurt when you step on it.

My first project in the product design department: a stacking building toy for kids aged 3 to 6, with no small parts to swallow and no pain underfoot.

Age3 to 6
Small partsNone
Pain underfootNone
ANODYNE: A building toy that doesn't hurt when you step on it.
Role
Solo · research, ideation, 3D modeling
Course
PRD001 Design Techniques
2024/2025
Tools
Brainstorming · 3ds Max · KeyShot
Supervised by
  • Dr. Islam Gharibe
  • Dr. Heba Rabie
  • TA Aya Alsayed

01Brief

Design a toy for a specific age

Design Techniques taught us how to research, brainstorm and model in 3D. The brief was a toy for kids of a specific age.

02Idea

Painless building

Anodyne means painless. Building bricks have tiny parts that small kids can swallow, and everyone knows how it feels to step on one. My toy uses large honeycomb plates with air gaps that kids stack into houses, birds or anything else.

03Decision

No connectors

I tried pin connectors in 3ds Max and then dropped them. The pieces simply stack. If a build falls, it falls, and for a 3-year-old that is part of the game. Simple and safe beat strong.

Plates, a corner piece and pin connectors in 3ds Max
Pin connectors I tested, then dropped.
Top view of four colored honeycomb plates
The plates from above.

04Born

Modeled in 3ds Max, rendered in KeyShot

I modeled everything in 3ds Max and rendered the final builds in KeyShot.

A small house built from colored plates in 3ds Max
A house built from the plates.
ANODYNE poster with three colorful builds
Final poster.