STAR WARS: May the Force Be With Me

and it was... I WON! There should've been a photo of me striking Nick at the ear, but it happened so swiftly, that even the photographer missed it.

I guess these toys are "aspirational playing on fantasy," and help any kid become there favorite hero. But seriously, they were fun toys for about 20 minutes, but I don't think they're worth $125.00 a piece.

Pretty Effective Sports Ads

The 13-17 year old kids ripped a couple of these ads.

I'm fascinated with the popularity with Manga. I bought these random Bleach figures for my friend, and went back two weeks later, and they were SOLD OUT! I can't believe it. This is a great story. It's about this girl who helps this boy slay bad ghosts. I was so fascinated with the reviews of this line, that I bought and read 3 volumes. They're great. They touch controversial issues (e.g. genetic engineering and abortion), and translate them abstractly enough for kids to understand the basic morals.

Not to mention that I spent 40 minutes shaking each box to get Rukia. My friend received a male character. She doesn't know the story yet.

Bracelet Design Process


The LED lights of this prototype are suppose to emulate gems. This is just a prototype.

Materials


Currently, I am doing research of materials. I would like to use a flexible circuit board with surface mount LED lights and have them be embedded in acetate. I really like the Louis Vuitton hair barrettes and sunglasses, that seem to use this look.

Gender Toy Differences

Laura Allen from Vision Education discussed gender issues of toys, which I thought was helpful. She said she observed that girls tend to "like narration, they like a story," and that girls tend to want to know the "how" and "why" the object works in the real world. Girls are more goal-oriented and boy like "tweaking."

Story Development: Sasu Twins

For the narrative, the bracelets are worn by twin girls. They communicate to each other telepathically. The name "Sasu" was inspired by the movie "The Shining," where "shining" is a metaphor for telepathy. "Sasu" mean "to shine" in Japanese, which is how they communicate. They can read people, and they use their power to "connect" and cleanse evil spirits, similar to exorcisms except these connections are more mental. They reflect some of their powers to victims. They fight evil, and when they combine their powers, they are stronger. When they fight alone, they become weaker than human.


Rough Sketches:

Story Research

The aesthetic of the Sasu Twins is inspired by Rukia Kuchiki, one of the characters in the comic "Bleach." Her wardrobe in Fantasy is traditional Samurai, but when she lives in the real world, she morphs into a contemporary hipster teen, that is proud to have traditional values. She is a Soul Reaper, and came to our world to help "Bleach" send "Hollows," evil spirits to rest.

Personna


After doing research, I decided that the most comics appeal to boys, but American comics appeal to boys more because of they emphasize the adult form, specifically, breasts, hips, and chests. I think most girls are interested in Japanese comics because the characters tend to look like themselves. I interviewed two tweens who were interested in Manga. One liked the comic Inuyashi, and had posters in her room of the male character. She thought he was "cute." Inuyashi looks closer to a tween boy than any Marvel Comic characters, which is something they are interested in that age. Tween girls at that age have been given Hello Kitty, Pokemon, abstracted stuffed animals. Boys, on the other hand, are interested in the development of their bodies and probably prefer the deifyed male form.


Daniell Smith

Daniell is turning 12 next month. People often misspell her name by tacking an "e" at the end of it, but she's used to it. She lives with her mom. Her mom used to work at Heller Ehrman, but because her boss moved to White and Case, her mom works there now. She's saving her allowance to buy the next volume of "Bleach," a Manga about Soul Reapers. She likes to write, read fantasy, draw, play videogames, and surf the web. She doesn't really have any favorite celebrities, although she does enjoy a good story. Because she got straight A's, her mom is going to buy her a PSP, but she would rather have unlimited volumes of Manga because she already owns a PlayStation. She wants the books because she wants to be a Manga artist. She practices drawing Manga characters in her spare time in the sketchbook Hannah gave her. Hannah is someone she looks up to. Daniell is not quite sure how old she is, but she's in college or high school. Hannah studies art, and draws amazingly. She helped Daniell with her final school project, which was to make a changeable zine/comic book. They had a lot of fun. She likes to write also, and keeps a journal daily.

She just graduated from Wilshire Crest Elementary School, and she's excited to start middle school in the Fall. She knows her best friend Kaitlin are going to Palms Junior High School, and she's not sure if she's going to be bussed in or not.

Research on Target User: Girl Tweens


The target user for these bracelets would be girls between the ages of 9 and 13 years. I interviewed my friend's daughter Emily. She is a bright girl with many hobbies. She plays the flute, ice skates, plays baseball, read mysteries, and likes to collect teacups as well as American Girl paraphernalia. Her favorite toys are stuffed animals because she can talk to them when she's feeling blue. For example, when her dog died, she bought a stuffed animal that looked identical to her dog. She also built a house for it with her dad. Her dog and doll helped her get through a tough move from her friends. A lot of the collectibles dealt with themes of caregiver. Her doll, Samantha, comes with accessories like hair rollers, a miniature flute and music stand. I believe that children this age have a vivid imagination, and are intrigued with secrecy.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.annehong.com/itp/toyDesign/toyDesign06.htm

More Bluetooth Research: Hacking A Toy

I wanted to see how effective the bracelet would be if it could control another toy. Both the bracelet and the computer controlled Barbie. For the video, please visit: http://www.annehong.com/itp/toyDesign/toyDesign05.htm