Navigating the World of Toys | Suhasini Paul

Suhasini Paul

Co-founder&Toy Designer - Paul Studio

A designer, speaker and businesswoman whose success lies in taking concepts to reality by connecting the right resources with the people she works with. She designs the surprise toys found inside Kinder Joy for the Indian and global market, sports toys for Disney, India, and break-time playthings for ITC Foods. Along with her husband Paul Sandip, she runs PAUL STUDIO in India.

As one of the founders of Paul Studio, setting up a studio and building a business was not an easy task, the biggest challenge was spreading awareness amongst parents about selecting the age-appropriate toys for children. As a designer, this is the first thing I keep in mind while designing toys. It is also important to make manufacturers realise the importance of in-depth research before designing or conceptualising toys.

The most surprising and memorable opportunity was to design toys for Kinder Joy. It was gratifying to see my toys being manufactured by Kinder Joy. I was on the top of the world when I bought Kinder Joy chocolates, and in one of them, found a toy that had been designed by me.

Imagination turned into reality

While designing, I keep in mind the users who will be playing with the toys and the manufacturer who is going to produce those toys. The design process begins with observation and needs identification through in-depth research which leads to analysis and conclusion on what has to be done, be it a board game, puzzle, or wooden toy.

The Internet is a window to the world. Any information they seek is at their fingertips, which is good, but anything in excess is harmful.

I am inspired by the holistic behaviour and experiences of children whether it be physical, cognitive, social, emotional, or cultural. With these insights, I conceptualise the toy. Detailing the toy is a vital step toward making it user-friendly and costeffective, and maximising its perceived worth. It takes four weeks to design a toy and three to four months to make it to the market.

Well designed toys are foremost for a child’s development. During the design and conceptualisation phase, designers need to marry all the parameters like the right materials, safety, play value, costing, ease of manufacturability, and children’s needs. Sourcing the right material and ethical production processes are of utmost importance because it not only affects the environment but also the users.

Benchmarks for choosing toys

Toys play a massive role in developing a child’s persona and thought process hence it is important to choose the right toys for your kids. Different toys are available for different age groups of children, catering to different aspects of a child’s life. Educational toys lead to the development of a child’s motor and social skills, puzzles instigate problem-solving skills, and roleplay toys allow children to practice roles eventually gaining confidence and learning important life skills. Toys make children more self-reliant and resilient and these qualities are inculcated by a variety of toys, games, and play activities.

The design process begins with observation and needs identification through in-depth research which leads to analysis and conclusion on what has to be done, it can be a board game, puzzle, or wooden toy.

Parents are ultimately the best judge about the abilities, interests and play needs of their children. The best toy choices would be those that will challenge the baby but not frustrate him/ her. Toys are classified per age group. The chosen toys should always fit the baby’s cognitive and physical level of learning. Toy safety is an important aspect to keep in mind while buying toys. Toys should not have sharp edges, uncomfortable fabric, toxic colours and loose parts.

Games vs Toys

Well designed toys are intrinsic for a child’s development.

For smaller age groups, infants and toddlers, physical toys play a vital role in their cognitive and physical growth. Here, tangible toys dominate digital games. The importance of tangible toys is increasing as parents are more exposed to infinite knowledge about these toys. Nowadays, parents are conscious and aware and are spending more on toys for their babies than a decade ago and this is an exponential curve for the next coming decade. The popularity of physical toys prevails and it will continue to rise in the coming years.

The Internet is a window to the world. Any information they seek is at their fingertips, which is good, but anything in excess is harmful. So if we optimize the use of screens in our child’s life, it is not so worrisome. We need to balance physical and digital play. Parents can introduce to their offspring a wide variety of freetime activities, like spending time with their friends and playing indoor as well as outdoor games with them, which can help develop a healthy body and balanced mind. Arrange activities that help children cut down their screen time. Find out your child’s passion and encourage him/her to pursue that, make the games/toy/products available to them and also participate in those activities with them to give them momentum initially.

Then surely children will pursue their hobbies, play with physical toys as well as manage to play online games.