Today we had to work as a group and come up with an idea for a toy that has the most minimal packaging possible or with packaging that could be recycled. The toy also had to be recyclable but have an on going use for it so that children would not get bored of it within a few weeks. The reason for the toy and its packaging being recyclable is due to the amount of toy waste found in landfill which aren't recyclable and are taking up unnecessary amounts of space which doesn't help the environment.
In our group of 4, my group came up with the idea for a weekly magazine made from cardboard which had cardboard parts in a sleeve within the magazine. The magazine would give information about recycling and show pictures of what other kids have made with the cardboard pieces within each weeks new pack. The cardboard pieces would be specific shapes with cut outs that could be slotted together to build something, for example a funky looking spaceship. The target audience is mainly boys of the age of 6 - 10 years old, although certain aspects of the design for example colouring and doodling on the bits of cardboard would be quite interesting for girls too. If you subscribe monthly to the magazine then you will get unique parts to add to your creations. There will also be step to step guide's inside showing kids what they could do with cereal boxes rather than just disposing of them but instead make furniture etc for their bigger creations provided by the magazine.
This activity was slightly difficult as we only had an hour to complete the task, although it was also enjoyable and out of our comfort zones as we had to design a toy, something a 3D modeller would usually do and we were quite successful when given feedback for our idea.
