Toy Product Design

Toy Product Design PDES 3711/5711 is a hands-on project-based design course offered in the Spring semester in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. This course is an introduction to the product design process with a focus on designing for play. There are no pre-requisites and it is open to students from all backgrounds.

In this course, graduate and undergradute students work together in small teams of 5-6 members to design and prototype their own toy concepts. Students work closely with a local sponsor, children and experienced mentors.

Students will be introduced to the product development process, including: determining customer needs; brainstorming; estimation; sketching; graphic design; industrial design drawing; sketch modeling; concept development; design aesthetics; detailed design; prototyping; and written, visual, and oral communication.

At the end of the course, students present their toy product prototypes at the PLAYsentations to toy designers, engineers, children and the University of Minnesota community.