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Hanzi Storytelling Box بلاک ټای by Jiayu Yao

Hanzi Storytelling Box بلاک ټای by Jiayu Yao is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 د اوسپنې A' Design Award جایزه in د تعلیم، درسي مرستو او روزنیزې مینځپانګې ډیزاین Competition Category.


اوسپنهتعلیم· 2023

Hanzi Storytelling Box بلاک ټای

by Jiayu Yao

Client: Zhejiang University

د اوسپنې A' Design Award جایزه Winner in تعلیم Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #149040

Colors

The Design

About Hanzi Storytelling Box بلاک ټای

د هانزي کیسه ویلو بکس د لوبو نوښت دی چې د چینایي کرکټرونو زده کول د کوچني ماشومانو لپاره ساتیري او متقابل عمل کوي. دا د بصری او اوریدونکو عناصرو سره د کرکټرونو انځورګری طبیعت کاروي، ترڅو د زده کونکو سره مرسته وکړي چې دوی ښه وپیژني او یاد وساتي. د اپلیکیشن سره یوځای د زده کړې اضافي سرچینې چمتو کوي، لکه ټکي، جملې، د لیکلو سټروک، او ملګري انځور، ماشومان کولی شي د بلاکسونو د پورته کولو لپاره خپل چینایي کرکټر کیسې ثبت کړي.

The Recognition

About the د اوسپنې A' Design Award جایزه

Hanzi Storytelling Box بلاک ټای د اوسپنې A' Design Award جایزې ګټونکی دی، یوه ویاړلې پېژندنه چې ښو ډیزاینونو ته ورکول کېږي چې هغه مسلکي او صنعتي اړتیاوې پوره کوي چې له ښه ډیزاین شویو جوړښتونو څخه تمه کېږي. د اوسپنې ګټونکي د خپلو جوړوونکو لویه مهارت، لوړه تخصص، کارپوهانه پوهه او خلاقي وړتیا ښيي. له Hanzi Storytelling Box بلاک ټای څخه تمه کېږي چې یو ډېر ارزښتناک، ستایل شوی او ګران جوړښت وي چې عملي او نوښتګر دی. دا د اوسپنې A' Design Award جایزې ګټونکی ډیزاین د صنعت غوره کړنلارې یو ځای کوي او وړ تخنیکي ځانګړتیاوې لري چې له پوهې او استعداد سره تړلي دي. Hanzi Storytelling Box بلاک ټای د خپل دقت له امله درناوی کېږي او د ژوند د کیفیت داسې ښه والی وړاندې کولو لپاره ډیزاین شوی چې نړۍ یو ښه ځای ګرځولو کې مرسته کوي.

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

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