INDUSTRIAL Design juniors have come up with 74 ways to keep the handicapped agile and the old quick-witted.
Marveleux (a French word which stands for “physical,” “quickly,” and “fantastic”), an exhibit at the Beato Angelico Main Gallery last September 25 to 29, featured 74 clever and creative board games made out of synthetic, organic, industrial, and recycled materials. The games are playful but therapeutic creations to engage the old and the disabled.
“We want to show how Industrial Design touches the lives of many people through the practicality and usefulness of its products,” said Myna Suñico, professor and department head of Industrial Design.
Toy power
Included in the exhibit was Margaret Joan Trinidad’s “Number Power.” Trinidad patterned her creation after scrabble but with circular shapes and rubbers surrounding the board so that she could share with others her joy in learning mathematics and playing scrabble at the same time.
Juan Miguel Mojica’s “Hustle Puzzle” also makes use of word pieces that should form words based on science, mathematics, history, and the humanities. Players who mount the right words advance to the next number while those with wrong words go down.
For Mojica, this game is for players who are fond of spending time usefully by thinking well.
Meanwhile, in Ryan Sabio’s “Family Values Game,” two to four players need to master moving pick-up sticks one by one, without touching the other sticks.
Other board game designs were Abegail Castillo’s “Burger Rounds,” which is inspired by the different burger flavors, and “Pinoy Recipe,” which lets one familiarize with different Filipino foods. Classic pastimes such as “Snakes and Ladders” and “Checkers” were clad up in newer looks and fresher colors to create more enthusiasm among their players.
“We just want to make every one enjoy playing,” Castillo said. “Those who stay at home like our grandparents and the handicapped would really enjoy these.”
“All that a person uses in everyday life is basically a product of our practical art, that’s why we try to invent more stuff to add fun and meaning to our daily living,” Trinidad said.
