What was your idea when you first started to design your rocking horse for children zoorocker? Was there a special need that you noticed which had to be filled?
Rocking horses are iconic items, highly connected to our childhood happiness and feeling of freedom. The problem is that they are only this, simply rocking horses. We wanted to design a more interactive product. Something that can provide more to the kid, apart from developing their sense of balance. That was the big challenge for us. To create a rocking toy that is interesting, stimulating and fun to ride as well.
How did the idea of interchangeable animal-heads come up? Was it designed to specifically respond to a child’s psychology?
Yes, children’s psychology was a key factor to the design process. Interchangeable heads emphasise children’s creativity. Different colours and shapes, help their imagination to evolve. Choosing a head over another also develops children’s will and freedom of choice. Riding a horse is nice, but how about an elephant or a lion? That’s a real fantasy boost!
How important was the multifunctionality-aspect of the zoorocker? Was it planned to design, so that it could also be used as a book-shelf or did that idea come up in the process?
Actually we try to give a multifunctional character almost to everything that we design. ZOO is no exception. It’s interactive both towards children and their parents. Kids ride it and play with it, but parents pick it up and turn it into a bookshelf. Something similar happened during the design process. Although our main goal was to have an excellent product for kids, we always had in mind what parents could do with it too. Turning into a bookshelf and the fact that it can easily be disassembled in a flat package if needed, turned out to be something that parents really love.
Get in touch George Zervakis with via: