Hasbro challenge LSBU Product Design students

Hasbro, one of the world's largest toy manufacturers has challenged product design students at London South Bank University to design new toy concepts for the company.

LSBU Product Design students set a challenge by leading toy company, Hasbro

 

LSBU product design students will propose an extension to an existing product line—or a completely new toy. Final-year students of LSBU’s BSc (Hons) Engineering Product Design were briefed by Milan Balogh, senior design technologist at Hasbro and an LSBU alumnus. He tasked the students to research current Hasbro brands—which include Monopoly, Jenga, Furby and My Little Pony—and develop an extension to an existing product line or propose a completely new toy.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to gain practical work experience and enhance their employability,” says Robin Jones, principal lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment. “LSBU is driven to create professional success for our students and this is an opportunity for them to engage with industry by demonstrating their skills and creativity.”

The competition is fierce: Balogh reviews thousands of proposals submitted by toy inventors, of which only a few make it onto toy store shelves. Briefing the students, Balogh used the example of ‘Jenga Jolt’, a concept he had worked on to extend the Jenga brand—and then showed what finally reached the shelves as ‘Jenga Boom (pictured).'

The students will sketch and model their initial concepts to get feedback, then revising and improving their designs before presenting a final proposal. If Balogh likes what he sees at the end of the project, he will propose the students’ ideas to Hasbro’s production team. If taken to market, the successful designer will be paid either an inventor’s fee or royalty.

Learn more about studying product design at LSBU