Golden A' Design Award in Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design Goes to MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Puzzle Toy by Yoshiaki Ito

Yoshiaki Ito recognized for toys, games and hobby products design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Puzzle Toy by Yoshiaki Ito, designed for MoFU, has been granted the Golden A' Design Award in the Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The Golden A' Design Award Explained

The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.

More About MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Puzzle Toy

MoFU are transforming toys that are also brainteaser puzzles. Starting as identically shaped cuboids that slide out of boxes on drawers, each MoFU unfolds into a different kind of animal - pig, monkey, tiger, hippo, and giraffe. Each animal is its own character with cute and iconic features, but each is also a distinct puzzle. Folding a MoFU back into the correct cuboid shape so it can perfectly fit back into its box is a brainteasing challenge.

Award Record

With this recognition, Yoshiaki Ito is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2017 - 2018 and the 2019 - 2020 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design Award

The A' Toy Design Award is an international toy design competition recognizing good toy designs by best toy designers, manufacturers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to toy designers, game studios, industrial designers and hobby product manufacturers from all countries. Typical entries include dolls, action figures, board games, puzzles, plush toys and educational toys. The awarded toy designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/toy

About A' Design Award & Competition

Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://designers.org/100594
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/100594
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!100594
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/223555
Further Information from the Laureate: http://mofu.toys

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Puzzle Toy
Function: Puzzle Toy
Category: Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design
Discipline: Industrial Design
Industry: Kids
Colors: Dark Goldenrod, Burly Wood, Dark Khaki, Khaki and Sienna
Images: 5
Client: MoFU

The Recognition

Laureate: Yoshiaki Ito
Country: United States of America
Recognition: Golden A' Design Award
Edition: 2019 - 2020
Design ID: #100594

Credits

Image Credits: Photgrapes by Yoshiaki Ito, Video by Aria Wetzler and Yana Birykova

Design Details

Unique Properties: MoFU are transforming toys that are also brainteaser puzzles. Starting as identically shaped cuboids that slide out of boxes on drawers, each MoFU unfolds into a different kind of animal - pig, monkey, tiger, hippo, and giraffe. Each animal is its own character with cute and iconic features, but each is also a distinct puzzle. Folding a MoFU back into the correct cuboid shape so it can perfectly fit back into its box is a brainteasing challenge.
Inspiration: Japanese origami, Kumiki puzzles, Transformers.
Research: Each piece of each toy had to be precisely shaped to fit with its neighboring piece like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. Pieces that approximate parts of an animal body must also be folded and nestled in a specific way, fitting perfectly together to revert to a cuboid shape. Finding the perfect tension of the elastic bands was difficult as the pieces must freely rotate and fold, but not be at all loose. The holes bored for the bands had to be precise to the half-millimeter for the toy to function properly.
Challenge: I had to think about the shape of each piece very carefully and how it could fit with its neighboring piece like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Additionally all of the pieces had to be folded together into the rectangular shape of their box.
Realization and Technology: MoFU are 3D-printed using 100% recycled PET plastic from water bottles using selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing. The 3D-printed pieces of the toy are united by elastic bands which run through the center of each piece. The pieces are finished with polyshot surfacing and deep-dye coloring for safe use by children and maximum lifespan.
Operation and Interaction: MoFU emerge from identically shaped boxes, but each transforms into a different animal figure with articulated joints. Elastic bands form the animals' tendons and ligaments, allowing maximum transformability and infinite possible poses. The toys are figurines, but they are also puzzles with varying degrees of difficulty. Folding them back into the correct cuboid shape so that they can fit back into their boxes ranges from simple for a child hippo to difficult for an adult monkey.
Project Duration and Location: MoFU project development started in Brooklyn, NY in April 2018. The first animal, a pig, was created in May 2018; the monkey was finished in September 2018; the tiger in December 2018, the hippo in March 2019, and the giraffe in Jun 2019.
Specifications: 85mm x 70mm x 60mm when folded in their 3D-printed boxes and at their most compact. Dimensions change with various poses. The maximum possible height is the fully unfolded giraffe at 370mm, and the minimum possible height is a fully recumbent monkey at 35mm.
Keywords: Toys, Animals, Ecology, Recycled, Plastic, Geometric, Abstract, Transforming, Brainteaser, Puzzle