Background

Over the Summer of 2012, I had the pleasure of interning at Twenty One Toys, a fast-growing educational toy company based in Toronto. When I joined the company, they were in the process of building the company's exposure, as well as creating there first sets of the Connexions Toy. The Connexions Toy is designed to teach empathy, and communication, and is appropriate for all ages. It is currently being adopted by several Human Resources Departments, as well as School Boards.

Conceptual Work

I spent my first month at Twenty One Toys brainstorming and ideating on toys that deal with the general concept of Failure.

It was an awesome challenge that allowed me to let loose, and churn out as many ideas as I could. I went on to prototype a couple concepts, one of which is pictured below.

Connexions Manufacturing and Sourcing

The bulk of my time at Twenty One Toys was spent developing a manufacturing method for the Connexions Toy. This toy was originally made in plastic, but there was a desire for limited run of wooden sets. The original plastic prototypes are pictured below.

After modifying a the geometry to avoid any custom tooling, I went on to building the process. The method was inspired by the extrusion process, and involved making the parts in lengths which were then cut and assembled. Some of my jigs are pictured below.

After I was confident I had a reproducible, and consistent process, I went on to create a final prototype and manual for the prospective manufacturer.

With the manufacturing method established and proven, we then went on to find a manufacturer. This was an extremely informative process, which despite a few snags, resulted in a fantastic partnership, and end product.

While unpaid, this internship was one of the most educative and engaging experiences of my life. The featuring of a heart-warming acknowledgment in the Connexions manual was a much appreciated token from some of the best bosses I've ever had.