• Member
• December 4, 2023

TOYS FOR ALL

Into the wonderland of toys

 

The  Purpose  of  the  Group Toys  for All  is  bring together on one platform stakeholders having  varied perspectives in toy ecosystem. The  task of  designing  and building  new  and  novel  useful toys  is  facilitated  by  designers  ,manufacturers , marketeers ,psychologists ,educationists  among others  having  expertise and experience in various  facets of toys . The group  Toys For All   a virtual  community  is promoted  by  Srijan Sanchar (www.srijansanchar.com) , a leading organization in the field of innovation covering  the entire continuum from creativity to entrepreneurship. Srijan Sanchar has been involved in creating a platform for Industry Academia Interface to identify   opportunities and problems of  industries and provide innovative solutions /explorations  through academic partners.

Our  lives  are better  together

The  platform is  enabling  integrative    synthesis   of  a  knowledge ecology   across  the value chain from design to sales  and  opportunities   to interact and  commonality of approach  of  different  stakeholders . A number of  institutes of  design  , technology , art  and  management  are part  of the  virtual  group .

The magic of interaction 

Substantial Social  Capital   has  been  enabled by a  centreless   ,  open organization on account of shared interests  . Combination of  deliberate and emergent strategies  is helping   the   group to  direct  its course , while encouraging the learning process . A sub   group emerges   in response  to direction of the  discourse and    meeting/ webinars get organized  spontaneously . The   discussions are in asynchronous  mode  that permits exchange of  views spread over time . The ongoing  open  discussions  through informal  mode  is  fostering trust. 

Activities

Rejuvenating Toy clusters

The  group has attracted craftsmen and  manufacturers  from many toy clusters of India . A  repository  is being created by the  members    by sharing  their  research and  knowledge . A number of  toy clusters  are attracting  interest  from designers  and researchers  from different  fields converging on toys .  The traditional  toy clusters are benefiting   from  re-interpretation of  traditional craft toys to generate value through  eenhanced  design , optimised  production, improved quality and consistency ,uuniversal appeal and contemporary meaning  . New technology is  getting  combined with traditional crafts leading to fusion products   that combine  emerging technologies with traditional art forms . The  transformational initiative   is  leading to orbital shifting  change of  traditional craft based toy   clusters   to contemporary cluster leveraging the innate intuitive capability of  traditional  artisans of the  clusters . Display in fairs and exhibitions   is  now being  replaced   by virtual fairs .

 

	Clusters	Toys
1	Andaman & Nicobar Island-	Timber Toys, Coconut shell toys
2	Channapatna	Wooden toys
3	Daman & Diu	Tortoise shell toys andcrafts,
4	Sawantwadi ,	Ganjifa playing cards and wooden toys made from mango tree traditionally done by the Chitari or Chitrakar community.
5	Bahatuktlin	Miniature version of all household items put together
6	Bihar	Horse & rider Bamboo toys, Toy House, Cloth dolls
7	Gujarat-	Puppets, Stuffed Toys Made of wood & cloth, Clay toys and figures

 

Webinars

The following  webinars   were organized  to  focus on different aspects of the  toy ecosystem .

Role of design in growth of toy industry

A webinar was   jointly organized by AKTU , UPID , Srijan Sanchar, Oceanic Circles and virtual communities of One-Cluster-One-Focus and Toys-for-All. 

The  discussions  led to  conclusion that  consumer durable, automotive, and software products industries have  followed  an  evolved approach to design and customer centricity to create value. However, toy industry has not had inputs of knowledge of the same level. Lack of research insights, data on market and user needs , technology integration, innovation of material and processes and evolution of viable business models has resulted in low return on investments . Majority of the  toy manufacturers are small or micro enterprises and do not have design and development facilities at their units for toys , they have to approach outside organizations for product and prototype development. The presence of large number of professionals from toy  industry and toy designers in design institutes and those practicing as independent design professionals has led to interactions between the design community and the toy manufacturing industry for toy design incorporating appropriate design paradigms. It  is also considered   beneficial for  the   designer   to understand the current market needs which are driving the toy   industry,  which is rapidly evolving In response to changing  social  dynamics especially in view of covid-19  . Restrictions on Children and adults alike for staying indoors ,  is causing them to turn to Toys and Games for reducing boredom and  having multiple options  for   entertainment .

The deliberations  have brought  forward   issues   that have significant  impact  and therefore , a need was   felt  to have National toy Policy . Right  to play is a significant  entitlement  that  can  give children a  balanced  childhood . The  panellists felt  conditions are required to be  created  enabling     every child  to  make a  toy .  The  members  also agreed  for the need  to upgrade clusters  through research and innovation in addition to cross-sector collaborations with entertainment, education and media. Social media is  impacting the world of  toys along  with many  sectors .

Marketing and branding of toys

A webinar  on Marketing and branding of toys was   jointly organized by Srijan Sanchar ,DAIMSR   and virtual communities of One-Cluster-One-Focus and Toys-for-All. Key issues for the Toy Manufacturers  are  to innovate , develop better products and  build brands. Building a brand will involve identifying a right target market, developing right offerings for these selected segments, serious interaction with target audience at multiple contact points to communicate the new offering as the solution to new needs.  A market survey was carried out  by one of the members to understand the current and future trends .

The topics  covered in the webinar were  

Myth Buster: Marketing Vs Selling

Target Audience Definition, Segmentation

Differentiation Levers
Positioning
Games and Therapy
Marketing Tactical – Communication
Primer on Website / Digital marketing

Popularization of  Workshops on recycling .  

A number of activities  are being  organized  to promote use of  recycled materials for toys . A competition  was  organized  for  design of card  games  from waste  card boxes . Anthill Creations is bringing back play to all children by mobilizing communities to build inclusive and interactive playgrounds from upcycled waste material like scrap tyres & drums. Make your own game using cardboard boxes and also partake in a fun quiz around 'best out of waste' competition  .

 

 

Not all those who wander are lost ,Teaching  Through Toys   

Toys  are  models and microcosm  of artefacts and products that we see around in the world   . They embody the human imagination in the simple form of a toy .The role of toys in artifactual education and in pedagogy has been constantly evaluated and discussed  on this forum . It is felt that toys could be used to embody concepts in in its STEM learning and in exemplifying concepts in physics , mathematics and other natural Sciences  . Interaction between the educator's , toy manufactures , toy designers and psychologist have led to emergence of consensus on the appropriateness of tools for different stages of a child's mental development . The Toy designs are getting aligned with the various  multiple  intelligences as defined by Howard Gardner , for example design  of   toys  that lead to development spatial   abilities have now been taken up for design by a  group of participants .

Knowledge  that makes  a  difference is power

Knowledge can make a difference to all  activities of the toy  value  chain . The future direction of research in toy industry would    benefit  from an  interdisciplinary approach  of  psychologists,   educationists,  manufactures ,  designers which promises to take forward  research  on toys   to a new level  .

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step  

Examine  future directions and new paradigms in toy industry trends such as matching toys  with development needs  ,Game therapy , and Toy banks  etc  .Emerging   technologies artificial  intelligence , nano , gesture  and voice recognition   would be explored  for their role  in   Cyber physical toys  ,STEM toys ,Bionic  toys , Connected toys , and remote controlled  toys .