The Second Life Project
We are running out of resources and the number of products produced and discarded everyday is no longer sustainable. How can a design facilitate a solution to this problem?
The product is required to have two separate life stages, serving a separate function in each stage.
Idea: The Labo-Collabo
The introduction of the Nintendo Labo IP to future toy lineups would turn the McDonald’s Happy Meal into a small project for kids.
This project would extend the life of the Happy Meal, lengthening the time before the toy is thrown away by using the packaging itself to build the toy.
The Happy Meal experience produces a lot of trash, with toys often being thrown away shortly after the meal.
Building toys have high replayability.
Cardboard is highly recyclable and low-cost.
Phase 1 - The Happy Meal
Phase 2 - The Battle Top
The parts are then popped out of the Happy Meal itself and combined with the included “life piece” in order to construct the battle top.
The product’s first life begins as a Happy Meal, containing the food and life piece inside.
It’s life ends when the meal is finished.
Wait... What's Nintendo Labo?
The most underrated Nintendo product to ever be released.
Nintendo Labo sets are flat pack cardboard controllers that users construct to unlock new fun and interactive game experiences from their Switch console.
The sensor-packed joycons are integrated into these controllers, elevating the cardboard to a whole new level.
Once constructed, users are encouraged to customize their Labo, giving them a safe space to be creative, without worrying about damaging their expensive console.
User Research
Joseph Murillo
Opens lego sets, ignores the manual, and builds what he wants.
Outgrew the Happy Meal when he was seven.
Goes to McDonalds every day after sports practice.
Quick, filling, and affordable meals.
Fun ways to experience new things.
Opportunities for
in-person interaction.
The packaging has not changed much since its inception.
It’s just a box, with very little extra things about it.
It’s just a box, with very little extra things about it.
It’s just a box, with very little extra things about it.
Its lifetime is short
and wasteful.
Joseph quickly gets bored of existing toys, throwing them away with the meal.
The current generation of toys no longer
interest him.
Joseph's Mom
Mentioned that toys she grew up with taught her things, as opposed to video games seen today. She talked about her experience with Tamagotchi, a digital pet raising game.
“Kids don’t interact with each other in person as much anymore.”
She reserves money every paycheck, even when money was tight, to buy Joseph a lego set. She really liked the idea of legos, and how it gave kids the ability to create.
“It makes them think, do something with their minds.”
The Process
After interviewing Joseph, I started ideating on fold-up toy concepts that could be included within the Happy Meal’s packaging.
I wanted to create something that would encourage kids to play, customize, and interact together. It was important to me to come up with a solution that worked well alone, but worked even better when the experience was shared.
I was exploring the idea of reintroducing past childhood experiences in new ways to create potential moments of play and connection between kids and their parents.
Initial Prototypes
After some ideation, I settled on three final directions to choose from, and made rough proof-of-concept mockups to get a better idea before picking the final direction.
Piezo Labo Instruments
Walkie-Talkie
A series of fold-up instruments that use piezo microphones to amplify vibrations.
This sound would then be filtered to sound like specific instruments, and kids would be encouraged to make music together.
Emulating the experience of the walkie talkie using a smart phone app and a fold up cover.
The toy would emphasize physical buttons, user-to-user interaction, and encourage roleplay.
Battle Top Toy
These top toys would be built, customized, then battled against each other. Kids could customize their tops by trading parts, adding stickers, cutting out new parts, and much more.
The cooler your battle top, the better. This toy would encourage creativity and individuality.
Idea Development
After settling on the Battle Top concept, I started exploring different variations.
The goal was to develop a construction system that has the potential to provide a strong silhouette from all angles.
The final idea combined the best of all three, using a global core system that tabs would be inserted into.
Detail Iteration
Further Refinement
Revision 3
Revision 5
Revision 4
Revision 6
Color Application
Next came adding the color to the package. My friend Robert was able to help me out and teach me how to screen print, letting me learn another new skill.
Thanks Robert!
Product Gallery
Variation Development
After creating the final model, I wanted to explore what the other Battle Tops would have looked like, in order to paint the potential I had in mind for the Battlecore system.
Final Variations
After creating the final model, I wanted to explore what the other Battle Tops would have looked like, in order to paint the potential I had in mind for the Battlecore system.
