Product Development         

Aesthetics is another name for good looks if you like, or appeal. There are no hard and fast rules for aesthetics. What looks good to you might not look good to me. If you are designing for an individual the finished product has appeal to them. If you are trying to sell a lot of a single item you need to make sure that the majority of your buyers like the thing you are trying to sell. A good way to find out who likes what is to do some market research. You have to ask the type of user (called the end user) what they like. For example it is no use asking adults what would be best for a teenager, or children what adults might like. So, what age is the end user going to be and what sex.

With toys you should consider long term popularity you don't want to be fed up with the item after a week.. If you design an item which is ugly people won't buy it. It has to appeal to a wide group of young people if you are batch producing or mass producing. Colour plays an important part. Space consideration plays a part (too big and folks in small houses won't buy). If its serves more than one purpose (multifunctional) the article will appeal to a wider number of parents. (Shape sorter, alphabet, threading toy all in one).  What about durability if it is well built it will sell better because it will last longer.

Of course AESTHETICS are not all that needs to be considered. If the design is brilliant, fantastic looking beautifully coloured, very interesting makes lovely movements and noises but is too expensive it won't sell. If it is not going to last it won't sell. If its comfortable when you use (ergonomic) it it will sell better. So there has to be a balance between aesthetics and practical use. If the balance is struck an item has far more chance of selling. Look here for ergonomics

The box can be just as appealing to someone as the thing inside. If the product can be seen easily, if the box explains the contents in easy to understand language (often pretty pictures) then you may be more liable to buy what is inside.

So then, think what the toy is going to do and who it is for.. Think who it is for. Think about how you can make it attractive to the END USER, think about how you can grab the attention of the one who may buy it (first off THE BOX) Think about how you could collect information (MARKET RESEARCH it could be a postal questionnaire, street questions). What about advertising small time would be leaflets in letterboxes round the local houses. A bit bigger would be a 'flyer' inside a newspaper (would reach more people) and finally TV reaches a load of folk but VERY expensive.

If asked questions in the test look at how many marks the question is worth. If its worth one or two marks a quick answer is required, if it is worth quite a few spend a bit more time and THINK ABOUT IT.