UNIVERSITY OF DESIGN SCHWÄBISCH GMÜND

Play out side of the box a collaborative project with tonies GmbH

Through this collaborative project—supervised by Andreas Hess—the aim was to expand, modify, enhance, or reinterpret the current play values of the Toniebox and the tonies. For most children, playing is an almost limitless combination of creativity, movement, concentration, immersion in stories, and much more. The course’s goal was for students to manage all phases of a design project—both in terms of timeline and content—just as they would in a real-world client-service provider relationship, without limiting the versatility and creativity of the students.

The many creative, unconventional, playful, colorful, and humorous concepts that emerged from this collaboration are clear evidence of the project’s success. This partnership provided genuine added value not only for tonies GmbH but also for the university’s educational approach and the students themselves.

CLEAR PROJECT PLANNING, MOTIVATING FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS, PRACTICAL RELEVANCE, AND ROOM FOR CREATIVE DESIGN ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF AN OUTSTANDING EDUCATION.

Since 2003, Andreas Hess has been a lecturer at the University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd, teaching the fundamentals of representation techniques, supervising product design projects, concepts, and designs, as well as guiding various bachelor’s theses. In 2003, he co-founded the design and development agency whiteID with his business partner Sebastian Schnabel and served as Head of Design and Development for the Concord brand for 14 years. Andreas Hess’s excellent industry connections and extensive professional experience allow students to gain insights into exciting, real-world projects during their education. This also presents significant opportunities for collaborative partners.