Who? This project stemmed from a prompt assigned in my Industrial Design course. The toy was designed with three stakeholders in mind: Nerf, the child, and the parent. I needed to design a water toy that stayed true to Nerf’s iconic branding, satisfied the play needs of a 6-8 year old child, and convinced the parent to buy it.

What? A modular Nerf Super Soaker with interchangeable parts that transform the toy into 3 different forms: a rocket, an airplane, and a robot.

Why? Although the child is the main user, it’s the parent who does the shopping. Through careful research, I discovered the controversy surrounding gun-based play and wanted to design a water toy that didn’t resemble a gun, therefore satisfying the concerned parent. I also learned through primary and secondary research that kids ages 6-8 crave social, creative, and dynamic play. This led me to my decision to create a modular Super Soaker that allowed for ever-changing water play and kept guns out of the fight.

How? I started with child development research to understand the play needs of children ages 6-8. I spent an hour workshopping with a group of 30 first-graders where I asked them to draw / describe their ideal water toy — a pivotal moment in my project when I realized there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to child’s play. I also conducted online research on Nerf’s brand language and history to understand the style guidelines to follow. Conceptual sketching was done in procreate; 3D modeling was done in Rhino; final renderings were completed in Keyshot.