MO: Stop Motion Armatures
Product Dev.
Branding
In an increasingly digital age, younger generations are using artificial means to outsource their creativity to machines during key developmental stages. MO seeks to rebuild a childlike sense of wonder around playing and making something with your hands through stop-motion.
INITIAL RESEARCH
"If you can stay in the play and stay in their creative story of it, then it's meaningful, but it's less scary."
- Mindy, play therapist
Finding a problem is much more highly linked to creativity than problem solving
"As they get older, they become a little more disconnected, like apathetic"
-Kim, Middle School Teacher
Interviews with educators + creatives revealed that an engaging tool must connect with youths’ personal motivations
Papers Referenced:
Development of the Self Concept During Adolescen
“Child Art,” “Fine Art,” and “Art for Children”: The Shaping of School Practice and Implications for Change
When is Creativity? Intrinsic Motivation and Autonomy in Children’s Artmaking
Building resilience in education systems post-COVID-19
The Crosstown Initiative: Art, Community, and Placemaking in Memphis
Educators Interviewed:
Collegiate Art Instructor
Highschool Digital Arts Teacher
Middle School Teacher
Early Education Play Therapist
USER/ MARKET DIRECTION
Creative Toy for Children 12-14
$42b total 2024 toy market size, with dollar val. of toy market up 26% in 2024
Building sets continue 5th year of growth, 97% increase since 2020
Drop off in toy options for kids over 10 years old, rise in toy accessibility + revenue geared at older audiences
Market research revealed a gap in toys for kids 10+, with a growing market for building toys, reinforcing the need for creatively engaging resources for kids.
Trend Resources:
The Toy Association
Circana
Markets Researched:
Online Art Forum
STEAM Accredited Toys
Small-Scale Toy Production
DIY Figuremaking Communities
How can a toy engage with kids' creativity?
Explore your environment
Make complex ideas simple
Bring something to life from your imagination
And by combining the 3 principles, MO was born.
A modular building toy that allows children to explore their environment, bring something to life, and work through complex ideas through stop motion.
Mo Iterations 2 (left) and 3 (right)
Mo Iterations 1, 2, 3, 6
Stop Motion Armatures
In order to further connect children around the toy, the MO Studios app was created, a central hub to create and share animations
Use a template in your animation which moves with you as you animate!
Submit your animations in community challenges
Gain the winning votes in a challenge to be featured on the community homepage!
Mo's very own packaging!
A handful of pages from MO's instruction manual
Following MO's creation, the toy has been toured around Portland schools and summer camps to bring the joy of hands-on play to kids in the area.
MO: Stop Motion Armatures
Product Dev.
Branding
In an increasingly digital age, younger generations are using artificial means to outsource their creativity to machines during key developmental stages. MO seeks to rebuild a childlike sense of wonder around playing and making something with your hands through stop-motion.
INITIAL RESEARCH
"If you can stay in the play and stay in their creative story of it, then it's meaningful, but it's less scary."
- Mindy, play therapist
Finding a problem is much more highly linked to creativity than problem solving
"As they get older, they become a little more disconnected, like apathetic"
-Kim, Middle School Teacher
Interviews with educators + creatives revealed that an engaging tool must connect with youths’ personal motivations
Papers Referenced:
Development of the Self Concept During Adolescen
“Child Art,” “Fine Art,” and “Art for Children”: The Shaping of School Practice and Implications for Change
When is Creativity? Intrinsic Motivation and Autonomy in Children’s Artmaking
Building resilience in education systems post-COVID-19
The Crosstown Initiative: Art, Community, and Placemaking in Memphis
Educators Interviewed:
Collegiate Art Instructor
Highschool Digital Arts Teacher
Middle School Teacher
Early Education Play Therapist
USER/ MARKET DIRECTION
Creative Toy for Children 12-14
$42b total 2024 toy market size, with dollar val. of toy market up 26% in 2024
Building sets continue 5th year of growth, 97% increase since 2020
Drop off in toy options for kids over 10 years old, rise in toy accessibility + revenue geared at older audiences
Market research revealed a gap in toys for kids 10+, with a growing market for building toys, reinforcing the need for creatively engaging resources for kids.
Trend Resources:
The Toy Association
Circana
Markets Researched:
Online Art Forum
STEAM Accredited Toys
Small-Scale Toy Production
DIY Figuremaking Communities
How can a toy engage with kids' creativity?
Explore your environment
Make complex ideas simple
Bring something to life from your imagination
And by combining the 3 principles, MO was born.
A modular building toy that allows children to explore their environment, bring something to life, and work through complex ideas through stop motion.
Mo Iterations 2 (left) and 3 (right)
Mo Iterations 1, 2, 3, 6
Stop Motion Armatures
In order to further connect children around the toy, the MO Studios app was created, a central hub to create and share animations
Use a template in your animation which moves with you as you animate!
Submit your animations in community challenges
Gain the winning votes in a challenge to be featured on the community homepage!
Mo's very own packaging!
A handful of pages from MO's instruction manual
Following MO's creation, the toy has been toured around Portland schools and summer camps to bring the joy of hands-on play to kids in the area.
