Title - Pawzle Box
Size - 9 cm x 9 cm x 10 cm Medium - Found objects Completion - December 2021 Exhibition TextPawzle Box is a toy designed for dogs that are frequently alone at home or enjoy using their brain. Owners can often be busy with work or school. Inspired by the KONG toy, the design focuses on solving puzzles to get food from the box. The idea of the toy was to combine multiple types of dog puzzles in one, and have the dog be able to play with minimal mess from multiple toys. This way, it would keep the owner from spending money and having to clean up more mess, and provide the pet with more.
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Inspiration
The inspiration behind my design were the KONG toys. My aunt had one of these for her dog, and the concept of a chew toy with food in it became my main idea. The toy being made out of rubber causes it to be durable for dogs who like to chew, and so there's longer lasting playtime and less money spent on a new toy. Looking at the products, the bright colors help make the KONG toy attractive to both the consumer and the dog. The KONG toy's design is also fairly simplistic and not too complicated. The shape, which KONG founder Joe Markham modeled after a suspension part from a Volkswagen Bus, is round and easily able to be rolled around.
I wanted to use most of the same components and have my design be made of rubber for that same long-lasting playtime and to also be safe for dogs. As my product is centered around dogs who are often alone at home and need something to do other than sleep all day, I didn't want the toy to have small parts other than food placed in the toy. Having small components could cause the dog to choke if it broke the part off. I also wanted for my product to be visually attractive, and have bright eye-catching colors. |
Planning |
In class, we made a mind map of our problem and the ideas we had. I started with one dog, and wrote the problems he had at my aunt's home. He, Hachi, used to have another dog that kept him company for a while, and losing her made him lonely. My aunt works and goes out with friends frequently, so he doesn't have much to do at home. He had plenty of toys, but wasn't really interested in playing with them other than the one my aunt gave him. The toy she gave him was one with food in it, and so it motivated him to play to be able to eat. Hachi seemed to like chewing. The ideas I had for potential toys were that it had to be durable and safe to play with alone, so he wouldn't choke when my aunt was gone. Something with noise would keep Hachi interested. Further ideas were plush toys, frisbee toys, puzzles, and lasers.
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We also had an empathy map that described the problem with a pet and what could be done. See, think, hear and feel were the four sections. For my empathy map, I remember going to my aunt's house in the summer and hearing these problems with Hachi. I saw that he was bored, and not in the mood to really play with toys. He was content with just sitting in his cage or walking around the kitchen, looking for food scraps. From my aunt and mom, I heard that my aunt often went out and thus left her dog at home by himself. Her other dog, Hannah, passed away a while ago.
I was thinking that something that had food, or treats to motivate Hachi would be nice. It would keep him busy while my aunt is gone, but it couldn't really replace a friend. It made me feel sad to see that the previous two dogs my aunt had were gone, and that just left Hachi. I'd known them through my childhood, and it must have been difficult for both my aunt and Hachi. |
My first concept sketch was a rubber bone toy that could rotate and had a light. The light mechanism would turn on with movement, have soft colors and no flashing. I wanted to make the light safe, and add a visual stimulant to the toy while not being too intense. My idea was that the rubber would be ribbed for texture, and have holes for treats to be placed. My second concept was a squirrel toy, with food that comes out of its mouth and squeaks when squeezed. The squirrel is meant to simulate prey for the dog, and have a rubber inside for easier cleaning. My last sketch is a puzzle box. There would be a sliding puzzle, with the treat in the hole. Unlike the other two concepts, this one is based on learning than just chewing. The other puzzle ideas I had were that if you put dry treats into the puzzle with the circles, the dog would have to rotate the box around to get the food out of the holes. Another was just holes where the dog could shake the puzzle to get the food out. I noticed that this kind of toy could also be fun for children or other pets as well, depending on how much they liked puzzles. I was inspired for the rotating puzzle by one of my little brother's toys while brainstorming, and it seemed like an interesting thing to implement.
Process & Experimentation
I started off with cutting out squares from a cardboard box and tried to measure them to be the same three inches or so. Then I arranged them and glued the thing, with difficulty due to the sides not holding steady until the glue dried. Afterwards, I cut out a rounded piece from the cardboard box and took one of the circular pieces to use as the slider button. With the rounded piece, I cut a bit of it off to sort of visually represent the open part of the slider. It was difficult with the scissors due to how thin the part I was cutting off was. After gluing everything together, I glued them on one side of the box. I made two more of these pieces and glued them onto the side of the box, completing the first puzzle.
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The second puzzle was the rotation sliding puzzle, where the treats would roll around on the discs until they fell through the hole. I decided to use a knife because it was easier to cut through the cardboard than with a scissors, which I found couldn't quite cut rounded unless I wanted to break the cardboard pieces. The knife was smoother and helpful, allowing me to shave off some excess parts. I cut holes in the discs, not quite an easy task because of how small the hole was for the first disc. On making the second disc, since it was larger, I cut out a bigger hole than the first one. I pressed on the parts when I glued them to ensure they would stay on and not fall off unexpectedly. When I finished with the second puzzle, I went onto the third, which was just holes in the side of the box. I cut them out using the knife and began to cut small pieces of cardboard afterwards. The small cardboard pieces would be the treats. I wanted to add a sort of interactive element, and to help me better visualize my design rather than just have it as a box. After testing the "treats" to see if they worked, I began to paint the box orange. Originally, I wanted to do a light blue, but I thought that saving my white paint would be better and that orange was a good compromise. I painted the flat sides first, and then went on to the first puzzle and then the second. When I painted all of the sides, when they were dry enough, I went over with a second coat to fix some spots.
Critique
Similarities
The similarities were the general purpose of Markham and I's design, which was to be a puzzle toy with food inside. We both utilize bright color in our design to catch the viewer's eye. The toy is generally small, and has a shape that's not complicated. There are holes for the treats to go in. Some of the ideas we had were both inspired by things that weren't dog toys, like a suspension part or my little brother's own toy.
Differences
The differences in our designs was that my design has more than one puzzle on it, while the KONG toy only has one. I wanted to combine different types of puzzles into one single toy. Another difference is that Markham's toy is rounded when I have a geometric toy that can't be easily rolled around. My piece here is made of cardboard instead of the rubber the KONG toy uses.
The similarities were the general purpose of Markham and I's design, which was to be a puzzle toy with food inside. We both utilize bright color in our design to catch the viewer's eye. The toy is generally small, and has a shape that's not complicated. There are holes for the treats to go in. Some of the ideas we had were both inspired by things that weren't dog toys, like a suspension part or my little brother's own toy.
Differences
The differences in our designs was that my design has more than one puzzle on it, while the KONG toy only has one. I wanted to combine different types of puzzles into one single toy. Another difference is that Markham's toy is rounded when I have a geometric toy that can't be easily rolled around. My piece here is made of cardboard instead of the rubber the KONG toy uses.
Reflection
Overall, I think my piece was decent. Even though it's simple and doesn't have too much going with it, it's part of the design. The entire toy would be made of rubber, thus lending not much variation in material. Cardboard is difficult to work with since it's not necessarily neat and I wasn't used to working with it. But I was able to make a product I liked, and that's all that matters. My favorite part of my toy are the treats, since they're a nice touch to the design and help people to better understand how the Pawzle Box works. My least favorite part was having to glue the sides of the box, since I was worried they wouldn't hold and that it would take a while to fix things. The components of my design are heavily inspired by Markham's, using the same techniques and idea of his.
ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The visual design from the KONG toy inspired me to decide on a bright color for the design and the material it would be made of. The general idea is also the same, being a toy with food inside and having a puzzle element.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Combining multiple concepts together can make something easier than having separate ideas.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The best ideas can come from accidents, or things that you didn't see before.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea is that having something to figure out with a reward of food can be helpful for dogs who are lonely and can't frequently go outside.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The use of bright colors in designs help to make the product stand out and be more attractive to potential buyers.
The visual design from the KONG toy inspired me to decide on a bright color for the design and the material it would be made of. The general idea is also the same, being a toy with food inside and having a puzzle element.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Combining multiple concepts together can make something easier than having separate ideas.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The best ideas can come from accidents, or things that you didn't see before.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea is that having something to figure out with a reward of food can be helpful for dogs who are lonely and can't frequently go outside.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The use of bright colors in designs help to make the product stand out and be more attractive to potential buyers.
Citations
“History of KONG.” KONG Company, https://www.kongcompany.com/lets-play/kong-history.