Hanzi Storytelling Box Tegan Bloc by Jiayu Yao

Hanzi Storytelling Box Tegan Bloc by Jiayu Yao is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 Gwobr Haearn A' Design Award in Addysg Competition Category.

HaearnAddysg· 2023

Hanzi Storytelling Box Tegan Bloc

by Jiayu Yao

Client: Zhejiang University

Gwobr Haearn A' Design Award Winner in Addysg Category

23,202

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #149040

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Hanzi Storytelling Box Tegan Bloc

Mae Blwch Adrodd Straeon Hanzi yn floc tegan arloesol sy'n gwneud dysgu cymeriadau Tsieineaidd yn hwyl ac yn rhyngweithiol i blant ifanc. Mae’n defnyddio natur bictograffeg cymeriadau, ynghyd ag elfennau gweledol a chlywedol, i helpu dysgwyr i’w hadnabod a’u cofio’n well. Mae'r ap sy'n cyd-fynd yn darparu adnoddau dysgu ychwanegol, megis geiriau, brawddegau, strociau ysgrifennu, a lluniadu cysylltiadol, gall plant hefyd recordio eu straeon cymeriadau Tsieineaidd eu hunain i'w huwchlwytho i flociau.

The Recognition

About the Gwobr Haearn A' Design Award

Mae Hanzi Storytelling Box Tegan Bloc yn enillydd Gwobr Haearn A' Design Award, cydnabyddiaeth fawreddog a roddir i ddyluniadau da sydd yn bodloni'r gofynion proffesiynol a diwydiannol a ddisgwylir gan greadigaethau wedi'u dylunio'n dda. Mae enillwyr Haearn yn dangos medrusrwydd mawr, arbenigedd uchel, dealltwriaeth arbenigol a gallu creadigol eu crewyr. Disgwylir i Hanzi Storytelling Box Tegan Bloc fod yn greadigaeth uchel ei bri, a edmygir ac a anwylir, sydd yn ymarferol ac yn arloesol. Mae'r dyluniad buddugol hwn o Wobr Haearn A' Design Award yn integreiddio arferion gorau'r diwydiant ac mae ganddo nodweddion technegol cymwys wedi'u cysylltu â gwybodaeth ymarferol a dawn. Parchir Hanzi Storytelling Box Tegan Bloc am ei drylwyredd ac fe'i dyluniwyd i ddarparu gwelliannau ansawdd bywyd sydd yn helpu i wneud y byd yn lle gwell.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Hanzi Storytelling Box is a meaningful block toy that supports young children to engage with Chinese characters in a more friendly way. The toy kit uses the pictographic nature of characters, blending visual and auditory to help learners recognize and remember them. The toy divides characters into three categories by theme: nature (yellow), people (blue), and artifacts (red). Young children are encouraged to appreciate the beauty of Chinese characters, explore their mysteries, and find learning fun and engaging.
Dimensions & Packaging: Chinese character module: 50mm*50mm*6mm and 70mm*70mm*6mm Speech recognition module: 140mm*140mm*70mm Specifications: LED, Speaker, RFID Tag and Reader, Button, Battery
Tags: Education, Young children, Block toy, Chinese characters, Electronic toys
Production Technology: TECHNOLOGY: UX design process, Rhinoceros, Keyshot, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Arduino, Electronic circuit technology MATERIALS: Wooden
Design Challenge: The first challenge was to categorize and classify the Chinese characters that preschoolers need to learn. The toy divided these characters into three categories based on their meanings and used different colors to show the distinction. The second challenge was to visualize the characters by creating easy-to-understand patterns that fit their meanings. To do this, the toy described the meaning of each character through a one-sentence story in relation to its pattern.
Research: By combining Montessori's sensitive period for senses and Piaget's constructivism theories, and conducting a user study with children aged 3-6 years, the toy uses common objects in daily life as visual representations of Chinese characters. The existing knowledge of the children was utilized to assimilate new knowledge of Chinese characters. The radicals are key to learning Chinese characters, and the Hanzi Storytelling Box allows for free combinations between radical blocks to form different Chinese characters with clear visual elements that present the role of different radicals in the overall Chinese character.
Inspiration: Children often consider Chinese characters to be complex, boring, and irregular, which leads to children's anxiety about learning Chinese characters. By analyzing the cognitive characteristics, age characteristics, and literacy rules of lower-grade students, the Hanzi Storytelling Box is designed based on the "child-oriented" design principle.
Project Duration: The project started in March 2022 and finished in October 2022 in Ningbo.
Operation Flow: First, the child can freely play with the character blocks. They can place a single block or combine two blocks to form a specific character on the Storytelling Box. After pushing the box button, the description of the Chinese characters and the related fable will be broadcasted by the box. Secondly, the accompanying app allows users to record their own Chinese character stories and play them with the physical toy. The app also provides additional learning resources, such as words, sentences, writing strokes, associative drawing, and review. These resources can help children learn Chinese characters holistically and easily.
Team Members: Jiayu Yao
Jing Zhang
Jiayi Ma
Yuqi Zhang
Weijia Lin
Sheng Yang
Shuyue Feng
Cheng Yao
Image Credits: Jiayu Yao、Jiayi Ma、Jing Zhang，2022