Tactile Enrichment Alaabta Ciyaarta ee Faraha lagu Mashquuliyo by Ruoyou Zhou

Tactile Enrichment Alaabta Ciyaarta ee Faraha lagu Mashquuliyo by Ruoyou Zhou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award in Naqshadeynta Ciyaartoyda, Ciyaaraha iyo Alaabta Madadaalada Competition Category.

BirCiyaartoy· 2026

Tactile Enrichment Alaabta Ciyaarta ee Faraha lagu Mashquuliyo

by Ruoyou Zhou

Client: Ruoyou Zhou

Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award Winner in Ciyaartoy Category

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The Design

About Tactile Enrichment Alaabta Ciyaarta ee Faraha lagu Mashquuliyo

Kobcinta Dareenka Taabashada waa taxane alaab ciyaareed oo faraha lagu mashquuliyo kuwaas oo diiradda saaraya dareenka taabashada. Taxanuhu wuxuu ka kooban yahay shan kubbood oo laba jibbaaran, mid kastaa cabbirkeedu yahay 50 kor u dhufo 50 kor u dhufo 50 milimitir. Kub kastaa waxaa laga sameeyay hal shay oo keliya: dhoobo, maqaar, bir, alwaax ama dhar. Isla naqshad saddex geesood ah ayaa lagu dabaqay dhammaan shanta kubbood, si farqiga u dhexeeya walxaha gacanta lagu dareemi karo. Walax kastaa waxay leedahay miisaan, heerkul iyo ur kala duwan. Kubbadaha waa la qaadan karaa lana ciyaari karaa xilliga ay indhuhu mashquul yihiin gacmuhuna ay banaan yihiin. Ujeeddadu waa in la yareeyo ku tiirsanaanta aragga, taabashadana la siiyo door weyn oo ka mid ah waaya-aragnimada maalinlaha ah.

The Recognition

About the Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award

Tactile Enrichment Alaabta Ciyaarta ee Faraha lagu Mashquuliyo waa guuleystaha Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award, aqoonsi sharaf leh oo la siiyo naqshado wanaagsan oo buuxiya shuruudaha xirfadeed iyo kuwa warshadeed ee laga filayo hal-abuurro si wanaagsan loo naqshadeeyay. Guuleystayaasha Birta waxay muujiyaan xirfad weyn, takhasus sare, fahan khabiir iyo awood hal-abuur oo abuurayaashooda. Tactile Enrichment Alaabta Ciyaarta ee Faraha lagu Mashquuliyo waa hal-abuur la filayo inuu noqdo mid aad loo tixgeliyo, la ixtiraamo oo la jecel yahay, wax ku ool ah oo cusub. Naqshadahan ku guuleystay Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award wuxuu isku daraa hab-dhaqannada ugu wanaagsan warshadda wuxuuna leeyahay sifooyin farsamo oo karti leh oo ku xiran aqoon iyo hibo. Dhammaystirkeeda awgeed, Tactile Enrichment Alaabta Ciyaarta ee Faraha lagu Mashquuliyo waa mudan ixtiraam, waxaana loo naqshadeeyay inay keento hagaajin nololeed oo ka caawisa in adduunka laga dhigo meel ka wanaagsan.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: We understand the world through our five senses, receiving emotions and information every day. This project is a series of fidget toys that rethink our sensory habits, which often rely too much on vision. It shifts the focus to touch. The same pattern is made from different materials, allowing users to feel variations in texture and resistance with their hands. By reducing visual input, the work highlights how touch and other senses can become the main source of experience and emotion.
Dimensions & Packaging: 50 × 50 × 50 mm .five pieces.
Tags: Fidget toy, Without Visual Dependence, Touch, Smell, Series, Mixed materials, Toy, Playful
Production Technology: Five materials were used, clay, leather, metal, wood, and fabric. Three dimensional textures were shaped into each material. Then the materials were cut into small pieces and attached to the cube. This required constant checking to ensure every piece fit perfectly after assembly. Each cube has six sides, and I made five cubes in total, like completing a 120 piece collage puzzle in different materials.
Design Challenge: The biggest challenge was repetitive work and making sure every piece fit perfectly. To avoid gaps after assembly, each material piece had to be sanded by hand. For the metal cube, thin and hard stainless steel was used. After many trials, I chose laser cutting to shape the pieces, then filled the gaps with putty and finished with spray paint. The most enjoyable process was sewing the leather cube, marking, punching holes, stitching, and tying the thread. I truly enjoyed each step.
Research: This project explores tactile experience without relying on sight. About 83 percent of the information we receive comes from vision. When reliance on vision is reduced, the other senses become stronger and more memorable. At the exhibition, visitors could freely touch and play with the objects and write down their thoughts on each material. The interactive display received positive feedback, as interaction is part of the research and the work serves as a bridge between me and the audience.
Inspiration: In daily life, we often play with small objects to ease anxiety or boredom, clicking a pen or turning keys in our hands. Fidget toys were created from this behavior. Based on this and my research on the five senses, I designed this series using different materials to explore new possibilities. Enrichment in animal care means providing toys or spaces to reduce stress and improve well being. As humans living in concrete cities, we also face stress. This design asks whether we also need enrichment.
Project Duration: In April 2023, I began researching the five senses, touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. In July 2024, I focused on the relationship between objects, people, and interaction. By July 2025, I was testing materials and making prototypes, selecting five for further development. Fabrication began in November 2025. The work was completed in February 2026 and presented at the 2026 graduation exhibition of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts.
Operation Flow: These objects can be held and played with while watching TV, talking, or even during meetings under the table, any moment when the eyes are busy but the hands are free. The key idea is to enrich touch without relying on vision. Each material has a different weight, temperature, and even smell. Even with the same pattern, different materials create completely different tactile experiences.