Abstract

In this project, I propose to design a range of designer toys, which investigate a fascinating designer toys culture – Urban Vinyl.

The intension of this project is not only personal – to deliver sensation experience with an emphasis on aesthetic aspect of designer toys, but also inform and challenge the modern living attitude and lifestyles of people in the Hong Kong society, the place where I am from.

I believe people who are living in the modern urban life like Hong Kong, including myself, has been deeply affected by the metropolis consumerism. Lives have been all about earning money and buying products or services without understanding or even having a reasonable reason. Through this project I aim to influence the public to ‘re-think’ about how are we living and why we do things.

Proposal

Designer Toys

Urban Vinyl is a type of designer toys or action-toy figures that are often made up of vinyl. They are work of self-governing toy designers and artists who usually have street art, graffiti or illustration background.  They create exceptionally designed original toys that are sold in limited runs, often as low as 400 to 1,500 with a few color and material variants. Vinyl toys are often in graffiti style mixed with low and high art culture, Asian Street culture and American hip-hop culture. As these toys are highly aesthetically appealing in terms of color, form, quality materials and even packaging design, they are popular among youth as well as adults.

The vital characteristic and the differentiating features of Urban Vinyl toys is their originality. Unlike most of the conventional toys, Urban Vinyl is original from the start to the end, from its outside to its core. It is a blend of art, design and toys. “A designer toy is an abstraction distilled into concrete form. A drawing that becomes real, which enters our three-dimensional world and leaves the two-dimensional surface behind. Our response to this solid expression of hypothetical concept is a powerful one: at a deep instinctual level our imagination recognize a dream made corporeal-a magical translation of idea into object.”  (2000)

Design Intention

I propose this project because I am disappointed by the Asian consumerism culture. People’s mind has always been dominated by economical and financial concern, which buying and spending become the main part of life.

Because of the buying habit that people have nowadays, individuals’ happiness have been rely heavily on purchasing product and services all the time, and life satisfaction is being achieved mainly through consuming. For the reason that people desire to buy so much, people become so concern about earning cash to purchase brand names products and perceived status-symbolism appeal. It becomes an endless cycle of earning and spending. And people forget the original reason of buying was to improve quality of life, but not to push oneself harder to earn money.

The reason for living becomes unclear. For that I am motivated and to challenge this purchasing lifestyles and attitude through this project.

Although Urban Vinyl is a culture that has the necessary consuming element of modern life, there is something positive that worth people to look up to. It is a culture of making and collecting toys; people purchase the toys, collect them and cherish them. Not consume them and dispose them. As designer toys have the aesthetic quality to offer as well as the attitude and spirit, I believe people may follow or find this project influential and inspirational.

Design Approach

This project has evolved several frameworks. They are experience design, slow design and good design collaboratively. Experience design would be the driving force being considered from an aesthetic approach.

Designer toys are all about detail with intensive consideration on aesthetic quality and materials.

So a slow design apporoaches on the design process is needed. Every aspect of authenticity of designer toys has to be taken in to account. For example, details from packaging, materials, form, colors to graphics design and the appeal of the toy to users.  It will be a small batch production because originally is so important that designer has to take part and control every phases of the whole designe process from the start till the end. Good design would be a philosopical aid to the project which brings out the core argument of this project.

Project Concept

In this project, I aim to design and produce a series of collaborative designer toys products that base on street art culture and use Hong Kong as a background. There is a reason for this combination of multi-cultural reference. Hong Kong is a place where people have been having very basic and simple life. However, because of the economic growth and the appearance of consumerism, there is so much about rich and luxurious life in Hong Kong in recent years.

Street art is about low budget, using basic tools to create art in urban areas to deliver a message that one wants to say. There are passion and courage to adventure in the street culture. This attitude is influential for Hong Kong people to reflect their purchasing lifestyles. Do we really need to buy so much? What about be passionate on something for a longer time?

As an industrial design, I always wanted to express my attitude through products, and in this project, the product would be a toy.

“The power of toys is not about regression or infantilism. It is the recognition of possibility. Toys are symbols that have a figurative power to embody thoughts and emotions that may have their origins in childhood, but are not childish. We recognize part of ourselves, our secret, wishing selves-in toys. The part of us is out unexpressed, dreaming self.” (2000)

No one should forget about their dream, otherwise there will be no point to live.

People should value their dream and imagination more and to use them as personal goals rather than purchasing goods to achieve life satisfaction.

In reality it is impossible to be happy or having pleasurable time in every seconds of your life. There are things that one might not be able to do, but what could be done is to work hard to achieve the “pleasurable time”. It is the attitude that matters.

Artefact form and outcome

The outcome of this project would be a set of collaborative designer toy figures, which shows a strong sense of art. This artifact would be propositional, demonstrational, and potentially entrepreneurial. These toys suggest a vision for people changing status quo – to think, dream, imagine and possibly react by the simulation of the aesthetic experience gained from this project. And it would be a small batch production as the hands-on approach and limited numbers to designer toys are vital.

The dynamic of this project is hybrid with open and closed product. It will be a closed product in terms of what the toys deliver physically. However, it remains an open product in terms of delivering experience. There are different possible outcomes as how people use these sets of vinyl toys are up to the users.

Anderson, J 2008, Urban Vinyl Toys – A Step towards Modernization!

Phoenix, W 2006, Plastic culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World Politics, Culture and Society, Kodansha International Ltd, Tokyo

Vartanian, I 2006, Full Vinyl: The Subversive Art of Designer Toys, Collins Design in Harper Collins Publishers, New York

Designer toys are art toys and collectibles that are independently created by artists and designers. They are produced in limited edition as few as 1 to 2000 pieces. It is a blend of industrial design, graphics and illustration design. The creation of designer art toys is a shift from an underground subculture to a mainstream design genre. (Vartanian 2008) Because designer toys is a relatively new design genre, its definition and position in the design territories is still unclear. It is alternative yet, interesting and unique.

The uniqueness of designer toys is its capability of making impossible possible in the real design world, as toy is a scaling down of a much larger real, surreal or unreal thing. (Full vinyl) Designer toy is valuable for the reason that it is a representation of an idea that could not exist or perform in the reality.  For example, because there are the marketing and financial concern in every design project, there are so many constrains that it is impossible to just design and produce a piece of furniture, or an automotive that you dream about. The production of one’s ideal product is never easily going to become true. But you can always make it happen when it is a toy. This is what makes it powerful: In the designer toys world, a hypothetical concept becomes a tangible symbol can be holding on hands. (Vartanian 2008)

Although everything could become possible in the designer toys practice, they are not as simple as just putting ideas of a childhood dream or an unrealistic concept into a toy. There are very defined criteria that an object has to offer to be a so called a ‘designer toy’ or ‘Urban Vinyl figure’. There are also so many unfold area and untold stories behind these artifacts. While designer toys are original, aesthetically appeal and colourful, the design processes sit within several design approaches and methodologies.

In this literature research paper, it analyses and critiques how designer toys projects and Urban Vinyl culture engage with and informed by three design methodological frameworks including experience design approach, aided by slow design and good design frameworks.

It reviews three existing cases of designer toys projects greatly performed by three Urban Vinyl toy designers, ‘The Gardener’ by Michael Lau, ‘Chum’ by Brian Donnelly, and ‘YOD’ by James Jarvis, and based on two literatures of designer toys and Urban Vinyl, Woodrow Phoenix’s ‘Plastic Culture’ (2006) and ‘Full Vinyl’ (2008) by Ivan Vartanian.

The point of view is also inspired by texts corresponding to experience, slow and good design, ‘Experience of Modernity’ by Marshall Berman and ‘ Do Good Design’ by David Berman.

Methodological Frameworks

Designer toys projects often involve experience design methodology with an emphasis on aesthetic. In the Urban Vinyl culture, vinyl toy designers attempt to draw from many sources of cultural inspiration and create relevant integrations between concepts, methods and theories. The mission of experience design is to persuade, stimulate, inform, entertain, and influencing meaning and modifying human behavior. (Jones 2008) These are the functionalities of designer toys with a focus placed on the quality of the user experience and culturally relevant solutions.

Aesthetic experience design is driven by consideration of the moments of engagement. ‘Whatever aesthetic experience might be, it certainly involves emotion’. ( Shusterman 2009 )  When a designer toy is being used, the engagement between the designer, the user and the toy identifies the desired outcome of the product. ‘They are events in the brain, a cognitive interpretation of one’s feelings. Emotional experiences with more extended trajectories are at best treated as strings of emotional atoms.’ ( Shusterman 2009 ) The practice of designer toys is to achieve whatever the design intention is through delivering this sensation modern experience.

In aid of delivering experience, the design process of vinyl toys employs the practical method of slow design and good design philosophical thinking.

Slow design is a design thinking of longer design processes with more time on designing detail and fine-tuning. Its process involves local or regional materials, technologies and crafts. This framework provides a platform for further debate while offering a pluralistic, secular canvas for designers to encourage individual and socio-cultural change towards slowing metabolisms for a more sustainable future. (Fuad-Luke 2005)

Slow design manifests itself in existing objects and spaces, in products and buildings, in real and virtual environments, and in socio-cultural experiences.(Fuad-Luke 2005) And local culture is an important source of inspiration in slow design framework. It is essential that the design outcome related heavily to the cultural relations. ‘Slow Design contribute towards understanding the potential benefits towards individual, socio-cultural and environmental well-being.’ (Fuad-Luke 2005)

“Good design” is its connotation of moral authority.( Hall 2009 ) It’s hard to judge if a design is good or bad. Some important icons of product-design history are similarly useless: Raymond Loewy’s streamlined pencil sharpener which never went into production, Philippe Starck’s famously dysfunctional Juicy Salif lemon squeezer. One could argue that this useless object is not design. But the above examples were created by designers and belong to an ongoing conversation about design. This is the idea that ‘good design’ can serve as a medium for discussion about the cultural and ethical implications of technology. (Hall 2009) Many objects are designed not to be useful but to make an argument that every object is an argument of some sort, and its strength or weakness as an argument is a good guide to its value. (Hall 2009) Designer toys might not be practical; the true function of them is not only to be played with, but also to deliver a concept, an argument or an experience.

Case Studies and Reviews in Design Approaches

Chum by BRIAN DONNELLY in EXPERIENCE DESIGN

Aesthetic experience is the most fundamental design deliverable that designer toys offer. The project “Chum”, originally a 7-foot-tall sculpture became a 12-inch toy figure, is a great piece of artifact that sits within the experience design methodology with an emphasis on aesthetic. This toy is the reworking of the Michelin Man by Brian Donnelly, whose street name KAWS.

KAWS is an artist and designer of limited edition toys and clothing based in New York. KAWS began his work as a graffiti street artist in the early 1990s, and since then he has built an identity that had its genesis in adding visual-art like painting, subverting imagery to deface advertisements on billboards, phone booth and bus shelters.

He later converts familiar visuals into affronting works of art. He then gained success in the gallery world by his work of paintings. His paintings feature his usual cross-section of familiar cultural icons painted with precise execution. The resulting pieces feature the trademark graphic quality inherent in his work. His work also crossed-over with popular visual icon, for example, he reworked the Simpsons and Mickey mouse, with his iconic style into the “Kimpsons” and “Mickey Mouse Companion”.

And when KAWS moved onto customizing toys figures, his project ‘Chum’ signified KAWS’ mass influence within the contemporary designer toys world, shining a new guiding light onto the genre. Chum is the customization toy as a form of sculpture, which is backed up by KAWS’ attention to detail and his ‘vinyl is the new canvas’ philosophy. He compares his technique to that of mathematics: adding and subtracting. It focuses on adding the quality of the user experience by subtracting the complexity of the forms of his toy. His unique sculptural approach to toy resembles the Michelin Man that is encased in plastic packaging.

“To be modern is to a live a life of paradox and contradiction. It is to be both revolutionary and conservative: alive to new possibilities for experience and adventure” (Berman 1998). KAWS’ technique acts as a sieve of modern culture, filtering and re-contextualizing the images and information that he comes in contact with daily. “Modern sensibility is the expansion of experiential possibilities and destruction of moral boundaries and personal bonds, self-enlargement and self-derangement, phantoms in the street and in the soul. “(Berman 1998) The process of KAWS’ work is all encompassing, embracing popular culture and the visual landscape of the familiar. His work can be thought of as an overarching brand; however it is also immediate and organic. This energetic immediacy can be felt in the project Chum.

‘When I grew up, I never thought I could enter a gallery,’ KAWS stated in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, ‘I looked at them as these pretentious places that did not welcome me.’ KAWS gallery achievement follows the artist’s commercial success with both his art toys, paintings and sculptures that re-contextualize familiar pop culture. “To understand the aesthetic attitude in terms of a readiness for imagination is, to be sure, to move from one obscure notion to another.” (Cooper  2009) KAWS has done that as he also collaborated on design projects with popular brand like Commes Des Garcons, Marc Jacobs, and A Bathing Ape. Most recently he has worked with American rapper Kanye West to create the cover art for Kanye’s current album. This reworking of popular culture has grown KAWS into a multi-faceted, multi-pronged endeavor that has ventured into the realm of contemporary art. KAWS situates himself at the crossroads of media and art as a vanguard in the new frontier of the 21st century artistic discourse.

YOD by James Jarvis in SLOW DESIGN

YOD is an Urban Vinyl high concept art toy project done by James Jarvis from a slow design approach, which is another important methodology to Urban Vinyl toy design.

Jarvis was an illustrator before he made his first designer toy. He has a culmination of ten years experience in the design and production of independent toy figures. His projects set the benchmark for similar products in future.

YOD is a toy character with a potato head like creature. Jarvis developed this character from original hand drawings. This project is designed to deliver an iconic experience to user, the initial design concept is about ‘a very pure, just a walking potato head’. As slow design is designing to slow human, economic and resource use metabolisms (Fuad-Luke 2005), project YOD has performed in the same way. It is a slow design process from illustrating the character to manufacturing from 2D drawing to 3D sculptural vinyl toy. It is the manifest in slow design that encourages a reduction in human, economic, industrial and urban resource flow metabolisms (Fuad-Luke 2005) Jarvis used the similar design thinking designed space to think, react and dream within YOD.

Besides, YOD is a toy designed for collection. It has the notion of long time for collecting. It is a design encouraging a long view. And this project also repositioned toy design in terms of the focus of design on individual, socio-cultural and environmental well-being. (Fuad-Luke 2005) YOD is designed for the people who play this toy, which means collecting but not selling. With the ‘People first, commercialization second’ attitude, there is less about marketing and commercial consideration.

Jarvis has also created different version of the same toy which may be later hand painted by different artists. This fulfils the process of slow design is comprehensive, inclusive and reflective considered. (Fuad-Luke 2005) It aimed to look to sources outside of those used for conventional soft vinyl figure design and It permits evolution and development of the design outcomes.

In short, YOD metaphors further growth and evolution of the species. It contrasts the reality by its pureness. It is so simple that it is almost not possible to find it in the real world. This slow method and approach to create YOD was truly unorthodox. This unique creative path has resulted in a very special product that breaks all boundaries of toy production.

Gardeners by MICHAEL LAU in GOOD DESIGN

Michael Lau is the most significant designer in the world of designer toys. His work was instrumental in defining a new category of collectible figures as he is the first designer came up with the idea of making original highly detailed, vinyl-made grown-up toys. The first toy project he did, which is also the first ever Urban Vinyl designer toy project in the world of toy design history, named the project “Gardeners”.  In regards to good design is not only about creating a good or a bad design product but also creating an argument (hall 2009), the Gardeners is all about good design.

Lau worked as a retoucher in an oil painting factory after graduation from school. And then as a window display designer for a department store and later became a ‘visualizer’ at an advertising agency. He has always been the person who converts a concept into a sketch or a storyboard. Until then he was working on a comic ‘Strip’ which he illustrates a universe around a group of characters. In 1998, he decided to develop his illustrations into toy figures – the Gardeners, which made Lau’s name.

Gardener is a set of high-quality vinyl 12 inch-tall figures based on street-fashionable youth, which Lau worked for nine months to build them. These figures originally were made of hard ABS plastic that is solidified in an expensive mould, making them too expensive to custom-fabricate anything larger than heads, hands or feet. Another way to produce plastic toys is the casting vinyl method: vinyl plastic is injected into a cheaper mould and spun, producing a hollow object, which is then hand painted. Although vinyl toys cannot exhibit the fine detail of ABS plastic, they are far cheaper and easier to produce. Because the mould is less expensive, designer can reconfigure the entire shape; they then have the advantage of not being constrained by the 12-inch anatomical form. Looking to transform the designer-toy movement into something commercially viable, Lau landed on vinyl.

Initially there are 101 ‘Garderners’ in the collection, and Lau creates unique personality for each of the characters. There are street kids, basketball players, graffiti artists, rappers, DJs, skateboarders, surfers, wakeboarders and snowboarders handmade by moulding original head, bodies, hands and feet out of vinyl.  The figures come along with trendy fashion styles for examples baggy shorts, camouflage jackets, street sweatshirts and of-the-moment sneakers, adorned with chains, earrings and tattoos, and hair in dreadlocks or pressed beneath bright-colored caps.  These clothes and accessories are reflective of many of the top brands in the fields of street, graffiti and hip-hop music culture. For instance, the skateboarders wear sneakers by Nike, DC and clothes from Alphanumeric. The snowboarders ride Burton snowboards.  The Gardeners all wear very popular brand products ranging from Asian Japanese styles to American street fashion like Bathing Ape, Maharishi, Saru and Zero Nine. These are the contemporary street culture, hip-hop culture and skateboard style in Lau’s vision.

‘It‘s like the modern uniform,’ Lau said to an interview, ‘Teenagers or kidult in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Britain and the States all look the same.’ Lau’s Gardener being described as sharply observed, exuberantly imaginative (Lubow 2004) in the article ‘Cult Figures’, ‘This is all the way people wanted to look.’

In addition to creating a universe around his figures Michael is adamant about what they represent. There is an understanding of the culture and detail in every toy he created. Michael Lau wrote about his unique approach to the figures comes from an idea of, ‘what is the lifestyle of nowadays? You can find it at the Gardener. What is the current trend of street culture? You can find it in Gardener.’ The Gardeners are the depicted kids who do the coolest things amount the youth – wear like a dude, dripping with tattoos, hanging around the street, skateboarding and surfing. And they are gangs of friends who do street art graffiti, fashion and music. They just want to be cool; they do anything but hurting people and ruining lives. That is their attitude, nothing negative. ‘No booze, No smoke, No drugs, No crimes. That’s Gardeners.‘ That’s Lau explanation.

‘The figures are free to develop relationships, get married, go to work, move out of town and allow new members to be introduced.’ That is the freedom that they should have. ‘We, a group of young people, are living nowadays. We are living in our own world, with our own culture. We are the real people and we smile crazily. And we have 101 different stories.’ They are a group of people with their own culture; they ignore other people and enjoy what they are doing. This is the argument and the core concept of this one of the most important designer toys project in the world.

These days the demand for vinyl has made it harder for quality to match quantity. But Michael Lau remains independent by limiting his production and continuing his hands-on approach to every step of the production of his brand. He not only creates his own concept art, but actually sculpts and paints his figures for production. Overseeing his Hong Kong-based team on every aspect, from packaging to sales, Michael Lau and his  HYPERLINK “http://kix-files.com/2009/09/the-10th-anniversary-of-gardener-by-michael-lau-usa-exhibition/www.crazysmiles.com” crazysmiles company have also become one of the most relevant sources of information about the toy scene around the world. ‘We want to build up a culture of how to play with toys, not how to buy and sell’. Designers have enormous power to influence how we see our world, how we live our lives (Berman 2009), Michael Lau has shown a clear example.

‘We need to be constantly aware of what we do, for whom we work and how our work affects others. We cannot ignore the reality that design is a business and has to live by the rules of business.’( Berman 2009 ) That is what Lau’s attitude towards design, ”In a very boring world, something happens and people hook on it, and Michael Lau created it,” he says, speaking of himself in the third person. ”My aim is to challenge myself and not think of how famous I can be.”

Haptic is the process of recognizing objects through the sense of touch. It refers to people rapidly and accurately identifies three-dimensional objects by touching. It is a combination of sense/touch perception of patterns and texture on a surface and the active exploratory procedures involves moving fingers over the surface of an object or holding an object in hand.

Haptic has been used as a design approach which designer consider what kind of experience a design object deliver when being touched.

2.Deterioration

Deterioration is a gradual decline in quality and serviceability of an object, building or a human being due to the chemical or physical action of the environment.  Although deterioration means worsening, weakening, disintegrating or decaying in condition, the attrition that occur in the process of deterioration brings something positive. In a design sense, the impair in quality, character or value of a design object or an architecture could only achieve over time; in a design process, deterioration of a design concept could lead to a new direction.

3.White

White is not a colour. White is colorless. White is an attitude.

4.Archetypal

Archetypal is the original first model or pattern of anything on which it is based.  It could be an unconscious idea, a form or an image. It serves as a model or basis for making copies. It is a symbol universally recognized by all as it is representing or constituting an original thing which is being patterned, or emulated.

For example, the first original ‘Mona Lisa’ painted by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance in 1503 to 1506 is the archetypal. What we see the portrait painting Mona Lisa around the world through different media today is only the copies of the original.

5 Stencil graffiti

It uses paper, cardboard, or any media to create an image or text on to walls in public space.  The desired image is cut out then transferred to a surface through the use or spray paint or roll-on paint. In the process, layers of stencil masks are used on the same image to add colours, tone and depth. Motivations of stencilling vary from producing political messages, rising public awareness to commercial advertising. Stencil graffiti has over thirty years of history started from New York and later became a worldwide culture. Stencil graffiti is now popular in the US, South America, England, Australia and etc.

7.Layout

Layout is a big part of graphic design. A page layout is a long design consideration for printed materials. It is the arrangement, style treatment of elements on a page. Graphic design elements of a layout include typography, text, images, pictures, alignments, border spaces, bleeding and etc.

The functionalities of a page layout is to communicate content to the audience, planning of attraction and eye flow is essential to achieve a quality layout design.

9.Aficionado

Aficionado is an enthusiastic fan, devotee or a follower who likes and appreciates a particular interest, hobby or activity overwhelmingly and intensely. The subjects of worship are often a celebrity, company, sporting club, work of art or trend.

However, aficionados tend to be fervent admirers who are not professionally trained in the beloved interests or unable to do the activities that they are so passionate about. For instance, a designer toy aficionado does not necessarily know how to make a designer toy; a desperate fan of a rock band does not play guitar.

10.Idiosyncratic symbols

Idiosyncrasy is the characteristic and habits that peculiar to an individual. It refers to the special individual being or reaction to one thing. Idiosyncratic symbols means the perception of an imagery, sign or visual could be different amount different person. For example, the McDonald’s logo could mean a delicious unhealthy meal to a food scientist, but to a street artist, it could symbolize a cooperation monopoly.

12. Subculture

A subculture is a social group who are different from the large culture that they belong. Their believes, attitudes, values and behaviours are often distinctive to the society. Members of subcultures appear alien to mainstream social groups as subcultures are often attached to fashion styles and clothing, music and other visible affectations. However, subculture could lead to the start of a mainstream culture. For the reason that distinctive style of a subculture is valuable in the selling of new products and services, large business cooperation often seeks to adopt subculture to mainstream for commercial purposes. This process of adaptation may result in death or evolution of the original subculture.

13. Technological singularity

Technological singularity means artificial intelligence or super intelligence have the ability to self-improve. There are suggestions that if machines could surpass human intellect, they could improve themselves into far greater intelligences in ways unforeseen by mankind. That leads to issues about human survival and prosperity as artificial intelligences may eliminate the human race, and human could be powerless to stop them. Another controversy about singularity is AI becomes so powerful that would be able to do all what human does. Computers, robots, machines or any form of artificial intelligence could become self-sufficient and able to make their own decisions. The reason for human existence would become uncertain.

14. Aerosol can/spray

Aerosol spray is a can contains liquid particles under pressure, and the liquid is forced out of a small hole and emerges as mist. Aerosol spray usually have three major parts, which are the can, the valve and the actuator. The spray paint used by graffiti street artists is a type of aerosol spray.

16.Tagging

Tagging, the most common and simplest form of graffiti, is a stylized signature. It is often regarded as vandalism as the common targets are subways, billboards and walls. Tagging is to repeat using a single symbol or series of similar style writing to mark territory. A new way of tagging is to use laser beam to project a huge tag on the walls of building. This way of tagging is temporary with visual effects only. There is no physical mark on the wall after the laser beam is terminated.

17.Indie

Indie, or independent is often used to describe a type of music, film or even design. It means off-mainstream projects or underground productions. The independence from major commercial units allows artists & designers to focus more on the quality of designing or producing than becoming wealthy and well known. Indie music, films and products often deliver special experiences that mainstream cannot provide. Indie design can be seen as a movement made up of independent designers, artists and craftspeople who often handmade or batch produce products without being part of large business firms and corporations.

18.Urban Vinyl

Urban Vinyl is sub-culture and a designer toy movement. It is the making of action toy figures out of vinyl plastic. Urban Vinyl toys features original designs, small production numbers and limited color variation and edition. The whole design and production processes of urban vinyl toys are often run by small designer teams. The first artist/designer who started the urban vinyl trend is a Hong Kong illustrator named Michael Lau. His work is an offshoot of hip-hop, music and graffiti culture amount the youth. He creates hand-made 12-inch figures each with character that represents his idea of contemporary youth living styles and attitude.

19.Reverse graffiti

Reverse graffiti also known as clean tagging or dust tagging is a relatively new way of creating graffiti on walls or other surfaces in urban areas. It is done by removing dust or dirt from a surface like dusty windows or dirty walls in public area. Because reverse graffiti does not involves using paint, ink or any color materials, it is considered legal as ‘removing dust’ could impossibly deface or vandal a property.

One of the most popular street artists who do reverse graffiti is Brazilian Alexandre Orion. He ‘wrote’ ‘Wash Me’ at the back of a dusty truck. And his most famous work is the hundreds of skull images he created in a soot-covered tunnel in Sao Paulo.

20.Quasi-anonymous

‘Quasi’ means as if it were in a sense, however, it does not fully qualify.  It is something that appears to be something, almost but it is not. For example ‘quasi-news’ refers to a piece of information that does not qualify as legitimate news like love affairs between celebrities. It has no real impact on lives and there are lots of people having love affairs, but for commercial or other purposes, it might be reported as if it is news.

‘Quasi-anonymous’ is often used to describe street artists. It means the work of graffiti art or literature has undisclosed or unknown creator, but the graffiti art from certain artists are so famous that people recognizes whose work they belong to.  For instance, legendary street artist Banksy’s true identity and biographical details remain public uncertain, but because of his well known politics, culture and ethics street artworks around the globe are so popular, people know there is ‘Banksy’ out there, not who ‘Banksy’ actually is though. In another words, ‘quasi-anonymous’ means something or someone seems unknown but not totally.

The coolest designer-toys-project ever

The coolest designer-toys-project ever

Image copyright © 2008 101 Media Lab Ltd. Acquired from http://www.hypebeast.com

In this literature research paper,

-It reviews three existing cases of designer toys projects performed by three Urban Vinyl toy designers,

The Gardener by Michael Lau,

Chum by Brian Donnelly, and

YOD by James Jarvis.

-These projects sit within different design methodological frameworks including

Experience design,

Slow design and

Good design.

-This review is based on two books about designer toys and Urban Vinyl,

Woodrow Phoenix’s ‘Plastic Culture’ (2006) and

‘Full Vinyl’(2008) by Ivan Vartanian.

-The point of view is also inspired by two texts,

‘Ways of seeing’ by John Berger, and

‘Experience of Modernity’ by Marshall Berman.

Case Studies and Reviews in Methodological Frameworks

Chum by BRIAN DONNELLY in EXPERIENCE DESIGN

-Experience design is one of the most fundamental design approaches that these designer toys projects offer. -It focuses on the quality of the user experience is the practice of designing products, processes, services, events, and environments with a focus placed on the quality of the user experience and culturally relevant solutions.

-In the Urban Vinyl culture, experience design attempts to draw from many sources including toy character design, story telling and design thinking.

-Experience design is driven by consideration of the moments of engagement. When a designer toy is being used, the engagement between the designer, the user and they toy identifies the desired outcome of the product.

-Vinyl toy designers create a relevant integration between concepts, methods and theories. -The mission of Experience Design is “to persuade, stimulate, inform, entertain, and influencing meaning and modifying human behavior. The designer toys are exactly having these functionalities.

-“Chum”, originally a 7-foot-tall sculpture is the Kaws’ reworking of the Michelin Man, rendered in bronze.

-It later becomes 12” inches vinyl toys has performed in the ways of experience design and the experience of modernity.

YOD by JAMES JARVIS in SLOW DESIGN

-YOD is an Urban Vinyl project, which was done by James Jarvis from a slow design approach, which is another important methodological approach to Urban Vinyl toy design.

-James Jarvis was an illustrator before he made his first designer toy.

-YOD is a toy character with a potato head like creature. Jarvis developed this character from original drawings.

-YOD is designed to deliver an iconic experience to user, the concept is ‘a very pure, just a walking potato head’.

- Slow design is designing to slow human, economic and resource use metabolisms, project YOD has performed in the same way. It is a slow design process from illustrating the character to manufacturing from 2D drawing to 3D sculptural vinyl toy.

-This project also repositioned toy design in terms of the focus of design on individual, socio-cultural and environmental well-being.

-The toys are designed for collection. It has the notion of long time for collecting. It is a design encouraging a long view.

-The process of slow design is comprehensive, inclusive and reflective considered. It permits evolution and development of the design outcomes. For example, in this project there are different version of the same toy which may be later hand painted by different artists.

-YOD is the manifest in slow design that encourages a reduction in human, economic, industrial and urban resource flow metabolisms by designing for space to think, react and dream.

-And it is about the people who play this toy, which means collecting but not selling. People first, commercialization second.

Gardeners by MICHAEL LAU in GOOD DESIGN

-Good design is not only creating a good or a bad design product. It is about creating an argument.

-Michael Lau’s Gardener is a project all about good design. This is the first Urban Vinyl designer toy project in the world of toy design history.

-Gardener are 12″ figures. All of the bodies, clothes, accessories and heads are handmade by Michael. He has featured kids, basketball players, graffiti artists, rappers, dj’s, skateboarders, snowboarders and wakeboarders in his collections.

- Their clothes reflective of many of the top brands in those fields. I.E. His skateboarders wear shoes by DC and clothes by Alphanumeric. His snowboarders ride Burton snowboards. Some even wear very trendy fashions from Bathing Ape, Maharishi, Saru and Zero Nine.

- There is an understanding of the culture and detail in every figure he has created. His unique approach to the figures, especially the Gardenergala series, comes from an idea. What if the kids living in the Gardenergala universe live their own lives? The figures are free to develop relationships, get married, go to work, move out of town and allow new members to be introduced.

- Starting with 101 Gardeners, in development since 1998, Michael hopes to continue the Gardener Universe growing. In 2003 Michael introduced Gardener 103 and in 2006 he introduced Gardeners 104, 105 and 106. In addition to creating a universe around his figures Michael is adamant about what they represent.

-Michael Lau wrote about his work “What is the lifestyle of nowadays? You can find it at Gardenergala. What is the current trend of street culture? You can find it in Gardenergala. No booze, No smoke, No drug. That’s Gardenergala. We, a group of young people, are living nowadays. We are living in our own world, with our own culture. We are the real people and we smile crazily. And we have 101 different stories.”

-This is the argument and the core concept of this one of the most important designer toys project in the world.

Abstract

In this project, I propose to design a range of designer toys, which investigate a fascinating designer toys culture – Urban Vinyl.
The intension of this project is not only personal – to deliver sensation experience with an emphasis on aesthetic aspect of designer toys, but also inform and challenge the modern living attitude and lifestyles of people in the Hong Kong society, the place where I am from.
I believe people who are living in the modern urban life like Hong Kong, including myself, has been deeply affected by the metropolis consumerism. Lives have been all about earning money and buying products or services without understanding or even having a reasonable reason. Through this project I aim to influence the public to ‘re-think’ about how are we living and why we do things.

Proposal

Designer Toys
Urban Vinyl is a type of designer toys or action-toy figures that are often made up of vinyl. They are work of self-governing toy designers and artists who usually have street art, graffiti or illustration background.  They create exceptionally designed original toys that are sold in limited runs, often as low as 400 to 1,500 with a few color and material variants. Vinyl toys are often in graffiti style mixed with low and high art culture, Asian Street culture and American hip-hop culture. As these toys are highly aesthetically appealing in terms of color, form, quality materials and even packaging design, they are popular among youth as well as adults.

Design Intention
I propose this project because I am disappointed by the Asian consumerism culture. People’s mind has always been dominated by economical and financial concern, which buying and spending become the main part of life.
Because of the buying habit that people have nowadays, individuals’ happiness have been rely heavily on purchasing product and services all the time, and life satisfaction is being achieved mainly through consuming. For the reason that people desire to buy so much, people become so concern about earning cash to purchase brand names products and perceived status-symbolism appeal. It becomes an endless cycle of earning and spending. And people forget the original reason of buying was to improve quality of life, but not to push oneself harder to earn money.
The reason for living becomes unclear. For that I am motivated and to challenge this purchasing lifestyles and attitude through this project.
Although Urban Vinyl is a culture that has the necessary consuming element of modern life, there is something positive that worth people to look up to. It is a culture of making and collecting toys; people purchase the toys, collect them and cherish them. Not consume them and dispose them. As designer toys have the aesthetic quality to offer as well as the attitude and spirit, I believe people may follow or find this project influential and inspirational.

In this project, I propose to design a range of designer toys which investigate a fascinating toy culture – Urban Vinyl.

The intension of this project is not only personal – to deliver sensation experience with an emphasis on aesthetic, but also inform and challenge the attitude and lifestyles of people in the Hong Kong society, the place where I am from.

I believe people who are living in the modern urban life like Hong Kong, including myself, have lost their reason and meaning of lives. Through this project I aim to influence the public to ‘re-think’ about how are we living and why we do things.

Everything has a reason behind. I think ‘reason’ is such an important driving factor to determine if something is beautiful. When one has a strong reason to do something, whatever the outcome was, it would be a ‘beautiful’ thing to do. 

Love

Love is the most important element of human life. It is an abstract concept refers to deep caring, emotional feelings and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. If love is not beautiful then I wonder if there is anything else.

Indie

Indie, or  independent is often used to describe a type of  music, film or even design. It means off-mainstream projects or underground productions. The independence from major commercial units allow artists & designers to focus more on the quality of designing or producing than becoming wealthy of well known. Indie music, films and products often deliver special experiences that mainstream cannot provide. 

White

I am very addicted to white. ( This ” white” that I am referring to has absolutely no relation with races. )

I often found a white object, product or even animal attractive. Things look better with white rather than in colour. For example I see the white macbook better than the silver macbook aesthetically. And a snow leopard looks prettier than a common yellow-brown one.

The whole “white” concept comes from the movement of minimalism. Maybe it is about the pureness of white that brings out the notion of beauty from a product/design.

Street Art 

“Streets” refer to public spaces, and “Art” is the graffiti art work delivered by the street artists. Graffiti could be done in many different forms, like tagging, stencil graffiti, street poster/ sticker art, street installation or even video projection. They are often regarded as vandalism.

However, I found street art extraordinary interesting. It is a kind of ecstasy to me. I cannot stop looking on walls when I am walking on the street. It is the determination and bravery of expressing opinions and communicating messages from street artists that make street art so captivating. They make cities rich and beautiful.