MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Brinquedo Quebra-Cabeça by Yoshiaki Ito

MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Brinquedo Quebra-Cabeça by Yoshiaki Ito is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award de Ouro in Design de Brinquedos, Jogos e Produtos de Hobby Competition Category.

OuroBrinquedo· 2020

MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Brinquedo Quebra-Cabeça

by Yoshiaki Ito

Client: MoFU

A' Design Award de Ouro Winner in Brinquedo Category

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The Design

About MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Brinquedo Quebra-Cabeça

Morphits (anteriormente conhecidos como MoFU) são brinquedos transformáveis que também funcionam como quebra-cabeças desafiadores. Estes brinquedos de forma cubóide deslizam de suas caixas e se desdobram em diversos animais, como porcos, macacos, tigres, hipopótamos e girafas. Cada animal possui características adoráveis e distintas, tornando-os personagens encantadores. No entanto, o verdadeiro desafio está em dobrar os Morphits de volta à forma cubóide correta, exigindo raciocínio para resolver a intrigante tarefa de encaixá-los precisamente de volta em suas caixas.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Ouro

MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Brinquedo Quebra-Cabeça conquistou o A' Design Award de Ouro, um reconhecimento imensamente prestigiado atribuído a designs de primeira linha, maravilhosos e notáveis. Os vencedores do Ouro são criações extremamente inovadoras, visionárias e glamorosamente deslumbrantes, que refletem o prodígio, a sabedoria e a proeza dos seus designers. Espera-se que MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Brinquedo Quebra-Cabeça seja uma invenção muito elogiada, pioneira e monumental, que oferece um valor sem precedentes. Este design vencedor do A' Design Award de Ouro é um projeto espetacular e respeitado, que beneficia muito e faz avançar as fronteiras da arte, da ciência, do design e da tecnologia. MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Brinquedo Quebra-Cabeça cria sentimentos intensos de desejo, evoca paixão, incentiva a criatividade e fascina-nos.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

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.
Dimensions & Packaging: 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.
Tags: Toys, Animals, Ecology, Recycled, Plastic, Geometric, Abstract, Transforming, Brainteaser, Puzzle
Production 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.
Design 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.
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.
Inspiration: Japanese origami, Kumiki puzzles, Transformers.
Project Duration: 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.
Operation Flow: 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.
Patents: Yoshiaki Ito
Image Credits: Photgrapes by Yoshiaki Ito, Video by Aria Wetzler and Yana Birykova