2025
Interactive Tool for Children
Beech, Maple, Baltic Birch, Twine, Rosewood
Our studio, Designerds, collaborated with Emily Carr University and Power of Play to design a dynamic wooden toy for children experiencing trauma. We named it Rhyzoom, inspired by the rhizome: a network of horizontal roots that grow beneath the surface, connecting and supporting new life. The name reflects our belief in the quiet, unseen connections between people, play, and nature, and how growth often begins in unexpected directions.
Working with wood allowed us to explore warmth, tactility, and natural resilience. We wanted the material to feel grounding as well as safe while still inviting curiosity. To capture a sense of surprise and discovery, we designed a dual-wheel mechanism where the inner wheel spins at a different rate than the outer one. As they turn, the layered cutouts create a blur of color and motion; an immediate, joyful response that rewards interaction.
Rhyzoom became a study in interconnectedness: how design, movement, and material can work together to nurture both healing and play.
In partnership with Ana Gutiérrez Watty and Declan Roberts.
Rhyzoom
Process
This project required a lot of research on children in trauma and psychology, we began with research that helped lead us with our initial ideation and sketches. Thinking of how physical exertion can release stress and be an expression for the trauma they endure.
We then moved into prototyping, a phase that required us to reconnect with our inner child. We had to relearn how to play, without overthinking, in order to understand what truly makes play engaging and intriguing. By letting ourselves experiment, be silly, and follow our curiosity, we were able to find the qualities of play that feel intuitive, joyful, and worth exploring further.
After settling on our final concept, we began exploring different cavity designs for the outer wheel and tested various bead types to experiment with the sounds they produced. We created templates and built the final prototype using the pin router, turned our own dowels, and threaded the outer wheel’s axle. We also rendered several pattern options for the spinning inner wheel before choosing a soft ombre effect, a gradient of colours that creates a rainbow when in motion. The prototype is currently being studied by the UBC psychology department before we move forward with sending it to the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan.
