DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
BARBARAS : Principle : A TOY / ART 4 Kids.
Idea: Narrative toy : Visualizing our world cultures playfully for the youngest travelers and citizens and forcing their creativity and joy to play.
Inspiration: Own and foreign cultures .
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
BARBARAS : Aim : Designing an interesting and joyful toy , which is practical , comfortable and easy to handle for babies - toddlers . The main idea is a soft cloth/fabric design .The toys stimulate creativity , memory, and recognition and force communication of new things playfully .
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
BARBARAS : Selling the ART 4 Kids , the original illustrations and / or leasing the production rights ( re- productions) ,coperation and collaborations with toy companies or publishers , art / design institutions , realizing other designs and design variations , etc.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
BARBARAS : Duration of developing the main concept and realization of the soft cloth book was about a few weeks. The main idea has been continued also by creating the cubes and other product variations .
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
BARBARAS : Own initiative , being inspired to discuss the subject " souvenirs " caused by a souvenir design contest in 2004 .
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
BARBARAS : It is NOT produced or used by another company .
Interest in selling or leasing the originals and /or the production rights as well as developing and realizing other My Travel Guides and product variations .
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
BARBARAS : Being interested in toys , art 4 kids, travels, foreign cultures and traditions and in designing creative
and playful "souvenirs " for mini - travelers, visualizing our world cultures playfully .
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
BARBARAS : NO . No team .
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
BARBARAS : International children and their parents and friends ; mini- travelers, babies- toddlers (main idea: soft cloth/ fabric designs ) ; art and toy - lovers
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
BARBARAS : good concept ( main idea soft cloth designs for toddlers/ mini travelers ) , flexible concept, , opportunity to develop design variations ( material , target group , etc.), "timeless"; forcing creativity and communication playfully, provoking interest in own and foreign cultures and traditions , art ,nature and activities
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
BARBARAS : My ( first) Travel Guide ...... : flexible design name / title for each country and city .
Our would cultures & cities : used as a subtitle for the products , taking into consideration the possibility to combine diverse " cultures" ( memory , domino, etc.)
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
BARBARAS : Realization of the TOYS / ART 4 KIDS : My Travel Guide Munich and My Travel Guide Korea .
Design Tools : handmade illustrations ( e.g. colored pencils, tempera) , Corel Draw , digital transfer printing , sewing
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
BARBARAS : Creative and comfortable designs for mini- travelers .
Children playing : forcing individual experiences , memories , imaginations , recognition , communications
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
BARBARAS : Nobody. Not yet !
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
BARBARAS : Technology : materials , production , print process , presentation of the design .
Design Variations : digital presentation .
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
BARBARAS : General Research : certainly- our world cultures, discussion of main characteristics of our own and foreign cultures and traditions ,literature , architecture/ arts , which could be useful and satisfying for kids ,own experiences , travel, childhood studies , children toys and literature , " observation" of tourists using travel guides , souvenirs , babies- toddlers reading picture books ( baby carriage) .
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
BARBARAS : Achieving good quality design / TOY / ART 4 KIDS .
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
BARBARAS : How? Why ? Joining the World of Toys !
The realized ART 4 KIDS , My Travel Guide Korea and My Travel Guide Munich has been succesfully displayed in international art and art- book exhibitions . This international design competition " discusses and evaluates " the designs as TOYS / designs . Furthermore, this Design contest has the aim to offer professional contacts , publicity and professional communication .
The developed concept is a design/ art concept .
The presentation of the design variations ( memory , domino and the sketch) were not specially made for the contest . These were only additional sheets- informal sheets- , which underlines the written conception .
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
BARBARAS : main idea , concept , .......but the realization and production always take much more time ....,
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
BARBARAS : Taking further interest in designing TOYS / Art 4 kids . Thank you for your attention .
