Interaction Design: design sketches
Posted: December 10, 2014 Filed under: Research, Second Year - Field - Interaction Design, Sketchbook | Tags: CSAD, digimon, interaction design, mameshiba, numeneko, plush, plushies, sketches Leave a commentLooking at the idea of creating an interactive object without a screen, I very much want to create a soft toy that is easily held and encourages the user to act affectionately towards it. In terms of size and shape I am very much influenced by mameshibas (of which I own many) as well as many other soft toys I have seen which follow the shape formula in terms of being handheld, and an inoffensive round shape
Using this principle as my starting point I began to create some sketches
I decided from the beginning that the object should not have a face, as I think it can be a very divisive point in terms of whether or not people find it appealing.

This is a more Westernised style cat face, which personally doesn’t interest me at all and I would never consider buying or interacting with

This, while being almost the same shape appeals to me much more, although not as much as the mameshibas
Because of this I feel that leaving the face blank is the safest bet, although it is important to frame the “face” with other features to that the user knows that it is a creature and interacts with it as such, rather than just a formless blob.
I also played with the idea of the creature having a tail. While I do like the idea of the main body having something loose that dangles freely, I decided against it in the end as I worried that if it wasn’t done correctly it would detract from the object rather than improve it.
I think this is probably subconsciously influenced through digimon and pokemon while I was growing up
I like the idea of the weight and hanging of carrying a creature with limbs
Some combinations of ears and tails