My thesis project reflects who I am as a designer as well as my appreciation for art. Ox Eye works as both an office tool and a designer toy, essentially combining my sense of design with thirst for art. I wanted to take on a project that would allow me to produce hundreds of sketches as well as show off some interesting art. What inspired my idea for these Ox Eye Office toys were my friends and I’s obsession towards Kidrobot. These designer toys offered fun character canvas for artists to paint and build upon, creating some amazing pieces of work. When displayed in an area, these toys really brought a sense of creativity and fun into an environment. It really gave the person a sense of identity and artsy cultural feel.
Looking at these toys, I thought that while they expressed a lot in an environment, they did take up space. I then looked at the average person’s workspace or table. Besides from the basic needs of office tools, computer, laptop, and what not; our tables were often times pretty bland. And if your office wasn’t well designed, such as cubicles, your working area looked even more boring. That’s when we start to bring in things such as posters, pictures, plants, and toys to decorate our space; make it feel more ‘alive’. However, sometimes actual space on a table becomes an issue. I have the same problem. I loved decorating my work space, making feel very alive and creative. However, when I needed to do work, things often times got in the way.
This is how I got the idea of combining these designer toys with office supplies. Sure, there have been lots of character focused office supplies, but many of them cater towards a very specific market. Sanrio for example, has been very successful, but those are marketed towards females, and heavily towards the Asian market. Ox Eye gives people both a tool and toy, and allows them to freely create how they want it to look and show off their personality, and at the same time, freeing up desk space!

AD 423 - Industrial Design Thesis, Prof. April Starr