Bringing Ideas to Life with Chu

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

Overview of the class and what students can expect to learn
Introduction to Part 1) Preparing for a product designer role
Introduction to Part 2) Learning techniques of developing personal style and product
Introduction to Part 3) Introduction to Children’s media, Toy industry and products

Week 2: Learning to see

Introduction to techniques for training eye to capture details
Learning to utilize the blind contour technique
Learning to utilize the single line drawing and journalism sketching in everyday life
Learning to analyze references and source materials

Week 3: Presentation and style p1

Learning what style, style guide and production bible is
Learning limitations of the “blue sky” method and how to overcome them
Practicing adapting to different art styles and following prompt requirements

Week 4: Presentation and Style p2

Learning to utilize references and source materials
Learning ways of developing “personal style”
Learning to speak about your work

Week 5: Technical Drawing and spec sheets

Learning technical drawing and communication for production
Learning making overlays and providing clear feedback
Learning to make a spec sheet
3D Sculpt for production

Week 6: Learning production

What are product categories and how they made ( hard/soft/activity/games)
Prototyping, model making
Step by step development process
What is “timeline” and why it matters
Learning ways to overcome challenges with production

Week 7: Children’s media, development, market research

Introduction to Children’s media and products
Children development, age groups and their characteristics
Learning your buyer: Parents, Collectors, Kidults
Importance of safety regulation and testing

Week 8: I made it, now what

Introduction to Toy industry
Making and selling your own merchandise
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)

Building foundation for development of strong sketching and drawings skills
Building analytical skills
Building critical thinking skills
Improving communication skills
Gaining theoretical industry knowledge
Learning business communication skills
Gaining technical drawing skills
Improving self esteem
Learning to analyze and use feedback
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

Basic understanding of human anatomy and perspective.

Course Materials, Textbook, and Software

Required Material
- Access to drawing software and computer, sketchbook or sketching paper, felt tip pens, tracing paper, pencil
Recommended Texts & Other Readings:
- Imaginative realism by James Gurney, The art of Disney Frozen By Charles Solomon (Chronicle books), Jungle Night by Sandra Boynton

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.