Bringing Ideas to Life:
Intro to Product Design with Chu Chuntu
Bringing Ideas to Life (Intro to Product Design) class, taught by Chu Chuntu, is a two part course aimed to provide students with methods to improve their drawing skills and integrate these skills into the product design process for merchandise, toys and collectibles. Students will learn how to take an idea from concept to development, including understanding the requirements and unique challenges of the production process. Students will learn to create technical drawings, spec sheets, packaging assets, and the process of bringing their ideas to life. Chu will guide students in analyzing and understanding their abilities and interests, and how to apply them to specific industry roles. Students will learn techniques for breaking down style and bringing their designs to market. This course is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about the product design industry and how it may shape their career path. Join this class to gain a comprehensive understanding of the design for production and take your skills to the next level.
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CLASS STARTS: TBA
Teaching Hours: Fridays - 5pm to 7pm (2 hours)
CLASS DURATION: 8 Weeks
Course Overview
Important Note: Refer to the course calendar for specific meeting dates and times. Activity and assignment details will be explained in detail within each week's corresponding learning module. If you have any questions, please contact your instructor.
Week 1: Introduction to Bringing Ideas to Life class
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Overview of the class and what students can expect to learn
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Introduction to Part 1) Preparing for a product designer role
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Introduction to Part 2) Learning techniques of developing personal style and product
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Introduction to Part 3) Introduction to Children’s media, Toy industry and products
Week 2: Learning to see
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Introduction to techniques for training eye to capture details
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Learning to utilize the blind contour technique
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Learning to utilize the single line drawing and journalism sketching in everyday life
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Learning to analyze references and source materials
Week 3: Presentation and style p1
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Learning what style, style guide and production bible is
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Learning limitations of the “blue sky” method and how to overcome them
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Practicing adapting to different art styles and following prompt requirements
Week 4: Presentation and Style p2
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Learning to utilize references and source materials
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Learning ways of developing “personal style”
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Learning to speak about your work
Week 5: Technical Drawing and spec sheets
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Learning technical drawing and communication for production
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Learning making overlays and providing clear feedback
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Learning to make a spec sheet
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3D Sculpt for production
Week 6: Learning production
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What are product categories and how they made ( hard/soft/activity/games)
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Prototyping, model making
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Step by step development process
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What is “timeline” and why it matters
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Learning ways to overcome challenges with production
Week 7: Children’s media, development, market research
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Introduction to Children’s media and products
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Children development, age groups and their characteristics
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Learning your buyer: Parents, Collectors, Kidults
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Importance of safety regulation and testing
Week 8: I made it, now what
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Introduction to Toy industry
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Making and selling your own merchandise
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Protecting your products in the creative world
Note: This course is designed to provide a thorough overview of the subject matter. The exact content and structure of the course may be adjusted by the instructor to best suit the needs and interests of the class or the student(s).
Course Objectives (Student Learning Outcomes)
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Building foundation for development of strong sketching and drawings skills
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Building analytical skills
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Building critical thinking skills
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Improving communication skills
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Gaining theoretical industry knowledge
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Learning business communication skills
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Gaining technical drawing skills
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Improving self esteem
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Learning to analyze and use feedback
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Meeting with Industry professionals (guest speakers)
You will meet the outcomes listed above through a combination of the following activities in this course: lectures, educational videos, (homework, feedback - based on tier)
Prerequisite/Corequisites
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Basic understanding of human anatomy and perspective.
Course Materials, Textbook, and Software
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Required Material
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Access to drawing software and computer, sketchbook or sketching paper, felt tip pens, tracing paper, pencil
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Recommended Texts & Other Readings:
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Imaginative realism by James Gurney, The art of Disney Frozen By Charles Solomon (Chronicle books), Jungle Night by Sandra Boynton
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Important Note: This syllabus, along with course assignments and due dates, are subject to change. It is the student’s responsibility to check our course. Any changes will be clearly noted in course announcements.
Instructor: Chu Chuntu
Chu Chuntu is an experienced Creative Director/ Product Development Manager with a background in Children Psychology and Commercial Illustration, working in the toy and entertainment industry.
She worked with a variety of companies such as Hasbro, Jakks Pacific, MGA Entertainment and Funko, creating products for Disney properties including Frozen, Raya and the Last Dragon, Disney Princesses, as well as Original IPs.
Anabell has experience with product management and development as well as working directly with factories and vendors addressing their communication and timeline management needs.
