DATE
2025 SPRING
FOCUS
Toy Design, Illustration, Intellectual Property, Brand identity
A playful book of open-ended stories and magical connections
“Zoopie is an interactive animal home book designed for children, featuring an open-ended structure and a “clap and make friends” mechanism. It encourages children to take the lead in role-play and storytelling, fostering creativity and self-expression. Each time the book is opened, it becomes a new starting point for a story they create themselves.”
Play Values
4 Characters In The Story
Interior House Decoration
Inner Pages （Thick cardstock 300–350gsm）
Easy to fold and construct pop-up structures
suitable for die-cutting and creasing
Process
User Test
User Scenario
Material
Prototype 01
Incorporate features from animal forms into the functional design of paper.
Prototype 02
I wrapped cardboard sheets with fleece fabric and experimented with two folding methods. In the first approach, I wrapped each individual piece with fabric before gluing them together. In the second, I first glued the cardboard pieces together and then wrapped the entire structure in fabric.
However, both methods resulted in excessive thickness, making it difficult to fold the structure properly.
Prototype 03
I wanted to give the animals a unifying theme so they would feel connected to each other, so I initially chose the concept of 'a group of small animals visiting the doctor together.'
However, I later realized that this theme might feel too serious for young children and doesn't quite feel like a playful toy. Instead, it feels more suited to a children’s hospital setting or educational book.
Prototype 04
Cover / Back Cover （ Fleece fabric）
Soft, wool-like texture creates a warm, huggable feeling
supports magnetic mechanism underneath
enhances emotional and sensory appeal
After that, I tried placing the animals within a larger environment—a shared community set inside a readable book. The animals from before are now integrated into this book, and children can take them out and create their own stories about the animals visiting each other’s homes, encouraging imagination and open-ended storytelling.
Prototype 05
This time, I transformed the original flat book into a 3D format. Children need to rotate the entire book 360 degrees to first set up the background stage, and then they can remove the animal characters to continue creating their own fairytale stories.
“When I first opened this book, I didn't realize that it needed to be fully unfolded in 360 degrees.
But after understanding the mechanism, I found it quite interesting.”
Prototype 06
After user testing, I explored adding a pair of hands—possibly from one of the animal characters in the story—on the front and back covers of the book. I named the book ‘Clap Hands and Be Friends’ as a playful prompt for children. The idea is to guide them to rotate the book 360 degrees until the two hands meet in a clap, which completes the background setup and signals the start of their storytelling adventure.
Final Version
Ip Info
Product Line
"Zoopie is a playful, interactive storybook that sparks imagination as children build their own animal tales through touch, movement, and creativity.“
