I came across designer Cas Holman during an episode of my favourite Netflix show Abstract. I found myself glued to the screen throughout the whole episode as I was fascinated by their work ethos as a designer; to give children the tools to let them be free to imagine, explore ideas and invent new things. As a tutor surrounded by creativity in younger children with autism and dyslexia, their great ideology as a designer has inspired me to become more creative in the ways I present and explain Physics.
Eradicating Failure
As a design engineering student, I have encountered many failures in my designs as part of the process. We are taught that failure can lead to great things, we learn from our mistakes and we generate new meticulous ideas. A great example of this is my friend and colleague Kim Denton whose product Rapida (a beautiful and inventive espresso cup), came from the failure of the 3D printer. Albeit looking at failure from a positive angle, it also comes with fear. There have been countless ideas I have disregarded due to predicted areas of failure. Cas Holman allows young minds to create without the fear of failure, perhaps educating future designers to think as much inside the box as outside.
I would like to share with you some products that sparked my intrigue and led me to define Cas Holman as truly a great designer.
Geemo
This was Holman's first product which was inspired by looking at different patterns in nature, specifically bone marrow. One unit can make an irregular pattern so they constructed a whole series of different parts and pieces with limbs, figuring something out where it would join and become one piece. It quickly became a more open-ended toy with magnetic ends. A great revelation this designer made while creating this toy is not colour coding positive and negative polarities on the ends, there was something fascinating about what happened when the magnets didn't meet. By colour-coding it there was a right and wrong answer, so when figured out, the user would never have the moment of experiencing and experimenting with this magnetic property.
When introducing this idea to a company Holman was asked, "So where are their faces going to be? What are the characters?" This company assumed that the product was not finished. I believe this trivial moment in Holman's career stands out to me as great as they stood by their idea and morals, saw something bigger than the company did and decided not to work with them. In my fourth year of studying Product Design Engineering, we were encouraged to be our own designers and to stick by our views, in similar ways, Holman is inducing this ideation into children by allowing them to create their own world with no right or wrong answers.
Rigamajig
"Rigamajig building kits inspire collaborative hands-on play, problem-solving skills and STE(A)M learning." Back in 2011, Cas Holman came up with the initial concept for Rigamajig. The project was developed in collaboration with a group of early learning educators, woodworkers, and children, which was really exciting. Its first appearance was at New York City's High Line Park, where it was introduced as the "High Line Children’s Workyard Kit." This name was chosen because the park had an industrial history, and the kit's simple, honest materiality reflected that. Plus, the organization behind the project was passionate about creating meaningful play opportunities for families and children.
Rigamajig Builder Kit
The starter kit allows kids' imaginations to flourish and combine engineering with design at a very early age. When I was younger I believe my love for Product Design Engineering sparked within my obsession for similar toys such as Lego. The large-scale building kit comes with dozens of differently shaped rigs and jigs that can be used to create playgrounds, toys, and imaginary scenes, the list is endless!
The thing I found fantastic is the add-ons that can be purchased alongside the starter kit; simple machines, locomotives and chutes. You can see the toy as almost a glorified pile of construction debris! It all looks so exciting and fun that I want to play with it myself!
I believe that great design comes with a meticulous understanding of your market, in this case, Holman has allowed the market to be the designers. The parts do not need special tools to assemble, they're designed to be intuitive and usable for small hands. An example of this is how Holman altered the wingnut; took the wings off the nut and put it on a bolt so the bolt and the nut can be easily screwed in. This concept shows children that they can create something that is larger than themselves and that they are trusted with real materials which is hugely empowering for them.
Final Thoughts
Our constructed environments are places of enforced hierarchies and power structures that are not friendly to everybody, particularly children. In their Abtract episode, Holman talks about how, as a child, angry they were at the height of sinks. They made no sense, they were not designed for them, adults can use lower sinks but children can't use a high sink. Holman's designs are tools for children to feel understood, and create their own world where when they have an idea they can just do it, which collectively spurs learning. Holman challenged existing toys and saw them as something designed to keep children occupied or designed to sell, but weren't really designed with children and play in mind. Holman has taught me to deeper explore existing products more and challenge their values, is the way we do it necessarily the right way to do it? Are the right values considered? From being introduced to this designer, I have started to see myself thinking about problem-solving in more unconventional ways. For example, the transportation of water, not in a cup or hose but things like sponges and hands. This has opened my design thinking to a wider spectrum of possibilities. In my eyes, Cas Holman truly is a great designer.
If you wish to find out more I have linked their website and Instagram below!
Website: https://casholman.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casholman/
Comments