Tactile Enrichment Joguines Antiestrès by Ruoyou Zhou

Tactile Enrichment Joguines Antiestrès by Ruoyou Zhou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award de Ferro in Disseny de Joguines, Jocs i Productes de Lleure Competition Category.

FerroJoguina· 2026

Tactile Enrichment Joguines Antiestrès

by Ruoyou Zhou

Client: Ruoyou Zhou

A' Design Award de Ferro Winner in Joguina Category

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Verified Award Winner
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The Design

About Tactile Enrichment Joguines Antiestrès

Tactile Enrichment és una sèrie de joguines antiestrès centrades en el sentit del tacte. La sèrie consta de cinc cubs, cadascun de 50 per 50 per 50 mil·límetres. Cada cub està fet d'un sol material: argila, cuir, metall, fusta o teixit. El mateix patró tridimensional s'aplica als cinc cubs, de manera que la diferència entre materials es pot percebre amb la mà. Cada material té un pes, una temperatura i una olor diferents. Els cubs es poden agafar i manipular mentre els ulls estan ocupats i les mans lliures. La intenció és reduir la dependència de la visió i donar al tacte un paper més important en l'experiència quotidiana.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Ferro

Tactile Enrichment Joguines Antiestrès és un guanyador del guardó A' Design Award de Ferro, un reconeixement prestigiós concedit a bons dissenys que compleixen els requisits professionals i industrials esperats de creacions ben dissenyades. Els guanyadors de Ferro demostren una gran habilitat, una alta especialització, una comprensió experta i la capacitat creativa dels seus creadors. Es preveu que Tactile Enrichment Joguines Antiestrès sigui una creació molt apreciada, admirada i estimada que és pràctica i innovadora. Aquest disseny guanyador del guardó A' Design Award de Ferro integra les millors pràctiques del sector i té característiques tècniques competents lligades al coneixement i al talent. Tactile Enrichment Joguines Antiestrès és respectat per la seva minuciositat i està pensat per oferir millores en la qualitat de vida que ajuden a fer del món un lloc millor.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: We understand the world through our five senses, receiving emotions and information every day. This project is a series of fidget toys that rethink our sensory habits, which often rely too much on vision. It shifts the focus to touch. The same pattern is made from different materials, allowing users to feel variations in texture and resistance with their hands. By reducing visual input, the work highlights how touch and other senses can become the main source of experience and emotion.
Dimensions & Packaging: 50 × 50 × 50 mm .five pieces.
Tags: Fidget toy, Without Visual Dependence, Touch, Smell, Series, Mixed materials, Toy, Playful
Production Technology: Five materials were used, clay, leather, metal, wood, and fabric. Three dimensional textures were shaped into each material. Then the materials were cut into small pieces and attached to the cube. This required constant checking to ensure every piece fit perfectly after assembly. Each cube has six sides, and I made five cubes in total, like completing a 120 piece collage puzzle in different materials.
Design Challenge: The biggest challenge was repetitive work and making sure every piece fit perfectly. To avoid gaps after assembly, each material piece had to be sanded by hand. For the metal cube, thin and hard stainless steel was used. After many trials, I chose laser cutting to shape the pieces, then filled the gaps with putty and finished with spray paint. The most enjoyable process was sewing the leather cube, marking, punching holes, stitching, and tying the thread. I truly enjoyed each step.
Research: This project explores tactile experience without relying on sight. About 83 percent of the information we receive comes from vision. When reliance on vision is reduced, the other senses become stronger and more memorable. At the exhibition, visitors could freely touch and play with the objects and write down their thoughts on each material. The interactive display received positive feedback, as interaction is part of the research and the work serves as a bridge between me and the audience.
Inspiration: In daily life, we often play with small objects to ease anxiety or boredom, clicking a pen or turning keys in our hands. Fidget toys were created from this behavior. Based on this and my research on the five senses, I designed this series using different materials to explore new possibilities. Enrichment in animal care means providing toys or spaces to reduce stress and improve well being. As humans living in concrete cities, we also face stress. This design asks whether we also need enrichment.
Project Duration: In April 2023, I began researching the five senses, touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. In July 2024, I focused on the relationship between objects, people, and interaction. By July 2025, I was testing materials and making prototypes, selecting five for further development. Fabrication began in November 2025. The work was completed in February 2026 and presented at the 2026 graduation exhibition of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts.
Operation Flow: These objects can be held and played with while watching TV, talking, or even during meetings under the table, any moment when the eyes are busy but the hands are free. The key idea is to enrich touch without relying on vision. Each material has a different weight, temperature, and even smell. Even with the same pattern, different materials create completely different tactile experiences.