Poly Beat Ritme-oefenspeelguod by Haoye Dong, Kecheng Jin and Xueyan Cai

Poly Beat Ritme-oefenspeelguod by Haoye Dong, Kecheng Jin and Xueyan Cai is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 A' Design Award yn Izer in Boartersguod, Spultsjes en Hobbyprodukten Ûntwerp Competition Category.

IzerBoartersguod· 2024

Poly Beat Ritme-oefenspeelguod

by Haoye Dong, Kecheng Jin and Xueyan Cai

Client: Zhejiang University

A' Design Award yn Izer Winner in Boartersguod Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Poly Beat Ritme-oefenspeelguod

Poly Beat is in ritme-oefenspeelguod ûntworpen foar bern. Geometryske poligoanen wurde brûkt om muzikaal ritme sichtber te meitsjen, wêrtroch bern helpen wurde om noaten en ritmepatroanen te begripen. It boartersguod is makke fan spuitgetten plastic. Bern stekke noatblokjes yn skiven en pleatse fjouwer skiven yn in kolomfoet. In kamera oan de boppekant lêst de kleuren fan de blokjes, en ien knop spilet it byhearrende ritmyske lûd ôf. In twadde knop wikselt it lûd nei drums, marimba, piano of gitaar. Frije gearstalling fan de blokjes lit bern har eigen ritmes meitsje.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award yn Izer

Poly Beat Ritme-oefenspeelguod is in winner fan de A' Design Award yn Izer, in prestisjeuze erkenning foar goede ûntwerpen dy't foldogge oan de profesjonele en yndustriële easken dy't ferwachte wurde fan goed ûntwurpen skeppings. Izerwinners litte grutte feardigens, hege spesjalisaasje, deskundich begryp en kreatyf fermogen fan har makkers sjen. Fan Poly Beat Ritme-oefenspeelguod wurdt ferwachte dat it in tige heech achte, bewûndere en dierbere skepping is dy't praktysk en ynnovatyf is. Dit winnende ûntwerp fan de A' Design Award yn Izer yntegrearret de bêste praktiken fan de sektor en hat feardige technyske skaaimerken ferbûn mei kennis en talint. Poly Beat Ritme-oefenspeelguod wurdt respektearre foar syn yngeandens en is ûntwurpen om ferbetteringen fan de kwaliteit fan it libben te leverjen dy't helpe de wrâld ta in bettere plak te meitsjen.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: PolyBeat is designed for children, aiming to help them learn music theory through a fun and interactive way. Geometric polygons have a strong correlation with music rhythm, which can visualize the sound of rhythm, help children understand the relationship between music genres and drum rhythm patterns, and figure out the rhythm pattern.
Dimensions & Packaging: The dimension of the product is 140mm*140mm*280mm, and the dimensions of each disc are 130mm*130mm*18mm
Tags: Music Interaction Tool, Multi-sensory, Children, Visualization, Rhythm Learning
Production Technology: The product is made of injection-moulded plastic and uses a camera on the top to identify the colour of the blocks that the child is building, so that the corresponding music can be played.
Design Challenge: PolyBeat offers children with a new multi-sensory way to learn rhythm and provides an easy-to-use tool for children to create music . However, the musical score also includes pitches and more complex advanced beats. We did not evaluate whether PolyBeat can have a long-term impact on children’s learning and interests. We will conduct a long-term follow-up study to further evaluate the practical effects of PolyBeat in music education. In the future, we could consider how to better integrate PolyBeat into real-world scenarios, such as home and school, to expand the possibilities of multi-player collaboration.
Research: Orff Schulwerk teaching method encourages that children should feel and express music with whole heart and improvisation. But understanding the abstract concept of musical notes is still very difficult. We propose PolyBeat, a toy that provides interactive rhythm practice and creation for children. The tool visualizes the abstract notes in a multi-sensory way to develop children’s musicality with a more interesting, gamified learning procedure. We designed 8 types of tangible blocks which can be stacked like a rainbow tower to represent basic notes, distinguished with different colors and block sizes. Children can play in two modes: a) learning mode and b) creation mode. We conducted a user study to evaluate children’s rhythmic control. The results show that PolyBeat significantly stimulated children’s interest in playing music, thus improving the efficiency of children’s rhythmic education and creativity in music.
Inspiration: For preschool children, they can try simple clapping and tapping exercises based on music. However, the current music education system requires learners to repeat the exercises many times, which is boring and tedious for them. Building blocks are always a favourite type of toy for children, so we wanted children to be able to learn and create music through the use of building blocks.
Project Duration: The project started in April 2023 in Zhejiang, China and finished in August 2023 in Zhejiang, China
Operation Flow: Children can assemble the blocks freely to create their own rhythms. The child inserts each music note block into the disc, and then puts the disc into the column base. After 4 discs are put into the column base, the child can press the "Play Music" button to play the corresponding rhythmic sound. When the child presses the "Switch Instrument" button, the rhythmic sound can be switched to different instruments, including drums, marimba, piano, guitar, and so on.
Team Members: Leijing Zhou
Haoye Dong
Kecheng Jin
Xueyan Cai
Shichao Huang
Zhengke Li
Xin An
Shang Shi
Xiaolong Li
Yuqi Hu
Cheng Yao
Image Credits: Haoye Dong
Kecheng Jin