Games, Bike, Chocolate and more
Products for Untangling Joy
I designed a series of products for the Tangled Joy online and offline stores. The products walk the users through daily activities for self-improvement, collaboration and connection. Currently we have four of the products in the online and offline stores.
The Design Criteria for the products included local production, easy manufacturing, minimum waste and high value for our customers. In order to achieve the final products, rapid prototyping and testing methods were applied.
I worked with a Boston based artist, Amir Tabatabaie, for the illustrations.
Adventures of Happy Land, A Game Children’s Behavioral Health
Led a team of four members and together we designed a game, Adventures of Happy Land (AHL) for children’s behavioral health. We designed the game for the National Institute of Health. The AHL system embodies gradual behavioral interventions to protect individuals from the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) environmental stimuli.
Teens and youths are among the highest risk groups in SUD . However, shaping behavior is most effective when starting at younger ages. Thus, the game is designed to start players in the 4th grade (9-10 years old) to build a foundation prior to the ages of peak susceptibility to SUD. Throughout the years of playing the game, teens and youths develop a strong sense of self and a support system by learning, practicing, protecting and advocating.
A Toolkit for Equity in Conversation and Effective Collaboration
In both online and in person meetings, some people are often quiet and some take over the conversation. For having effective collaboration and conversation, it is important to have input from all the involved parties. Diversity of thoughts and equity improves the outcome of projects.
I designed Twine Conversation Toolkit (TCT) for effective and efficient conversation in groups of three to five members. The toolkit also helps individuals receive useful feedback from the group members.
TCT, manages time, visualize the progress and help participants to better listen and speak. It includes prompt questions, feedback form, conversation map and a sand timer. Each of these tools are carefully developed through research and test to address the barriers of effective group communication. Twine Conversation Toolkit was pilot tested by ten business owners and four university professors in Providence, RI.
Soothing the Cancer Side Effect with Art
Chemotherapy may result in loss of hair in patients. One of our team members, Niloufar, had recently recovered from cancer. She inspired our team to think about improving the cancer therapy experience for children and their families. We contacted different cancer centers and researched about the children’s need. I also had a student who had lost her sight due to cancer therapy and so this project became personal and important to me.
Given that the cancer therapy takes a long time and it bring isolation for children, we decided to provide a venue for kids to do an activity and share their experience with their classmates or their families. Below are some of the prototypes for necklaces we created with resin and hair.
Chocolate NewsLetter for Entrepreneurship and Positive News
The idea for chocolate Newsletter came to my mind when I was working at a charter school in Rhode Island. The location of the school was in a post industrial city with old abandoned factories. The poverty rate in the city was high but the residence were hard working. Most of the local businesses were shaped around food industry because the residence immigrated from various counties, sharing their tasty food.
I was looking for a way to connect the past and the present and promote positive thinking among the 5-8 grade students. Together with the students, we developed the Chocolate Newsletter. Students learned and practiced entrepreneurship skills and sold hundreds of chocolate Newsletter at the school fundraising. They also interviewed their classmates and teachers to reflect their hopes and concerns through the newsletter.
Wanderlust, A Game for Connection
Wanderlust is a history and geography trivia game that facilitates intergenerational conversation and storytelling. Who doesn’t like hearing a mysterious, short and real story? My parents always had stories for us and their grandchildren, so did Lucy, the 90 years old woman in the assisted living space in Providence, RI.
Wanderlust was inspired by Lucy’s need in building strong friendships. Meaningful Communication specially among different generations has been a challenge. However, our research showed that storytelling can become an enjoyable medium of exchange.
Wanderlust provide promotes to elicit interesting stories and the game framework manages the time and creates a feeling of openness, adventure, and willingness to talk between 2-6 players. The Wanderlust board features several routes taken by famous explorers such as Marco Polo and Amelia Earhart
A Product for Giving People The Power of Evaluation
Saffron is a craft crop which is known to be the most expensive spice in the world with an unparalleled musky, honey fragrance that makes the simplest recipes luxurious. In order to produce one pound, 100,000 crocus flowers must be harvested by hand and the three stigmas of each flower separated.
Some dealers adulterate saffron with oil, sugar, turmeric and Metanil for more profit. Trust kit gives saffron shoppers the ability to buy pure saffron at spice markets.
Bees Bike, An Empowerment Toy for Children
I designed Bees Bike to familiarize kids with tools and assembling. Bees Bike is a kit of simple parts and kids can assemble a ride-able bike in their own home.
A Sandal Kit to Bring Awareness
Shoe is one of the most important pieces of our clothing and yet many of us know little about it. This lack of awareness has brought pain to our feet, to people in sweatshops and so to global craftsmen. How many of our shoes are truly comfortable? How many makes our feet look beautiful? How short they last? How expensive the better ones are? Who makes these cheap and uncomfortable shoes? Where are the real shoe makers?
I designed Embrace to answer these questions. Embrace is an easy self-assembled shoe kit, designed to serve not only as shoes but an educator to familiarize us and our children about structure and material of all shoes.
Embrace comes in four pieces: the outsole, insole, upper pieces and laces. The wearer, who here is also the creator, has control over assembling the shoe in different ways.
Taste of Culture, A Book to Share Innovation in Food and Culture
Within old cultures there are delicate and hidden innovations in ordinary tools and processes.
Taste of Culture tells the stories of men and women living in small city in Iran, where I was born. It takes the reader to Iranian families, streets, stores via stories to taste the spirit embedded in the culture and the recipes of Iranian/Persian food.
Embracive Design 