So I was poking through the art supply catalogs and came across the design-your-own puzzles in the craft section. With the puzzles being such a simple project to make, I thought about how students could tie the puzzle-making together with real life skills. Then the lightbulb clicked on: How would students learn about jobs that require creative skills learned in the art room? From there, I developed my lesson to include make-believe scenarios that reflect how artful creations could be sold by commission.
We pretending we were working for a graphic design company. In our scenario, we were asked by Toys R Us to design puzzles to sell at their stores. Toys R Us wanted to see multiple ideas for puzzle designs and asked our designers to explain why their puzzle designs would appeal to customers.
Materials
-5.5" x 8" compoz-a-puzzle
-5.5" x 8" white paper
-transfer paper (trimmed down to the 5.5" x 8")
-pencil
-black marker
-colored markers
-masking tape
-small ziploc baggies.
Objectives
The students created a puzzle design that they felt customers would want to purchase. They started with a concept design, then had their design approved by me before having it transferred to the puzzle template. Once the puzzle was complete, the students write a pitch to "sell" their designs.
Here's the Plan:
Day 1: I introduced the scenario. I explained to students how they needed to come up with an idea drawn out for a puzzle design, then have it approved by their boss (a.k.a. me). Once student designs were approved, I attached their drawings to transfer paper and the puzzle (secured with two little pieces of tape) and asked the students to transfer their images by tracing their designs.
Day 2: Students continue to see me for approval of images. Once the image was transferred to the puzzle, students re-traced their drawings n the puzzle with black marker, then used color markers to finish the design.
Day 3: Students use the final day to complete the puzzles. Once finish, they were asked to write out an explanation of their puzzle and why they thought customers would way to buy their design. For the remainder of the class, the students teamed together to pitch their ideas to each other. If students agreed to purchase their design, they were allowed to piece the puzzle together. As nice as it would be to do trades, the students were quite possessive per their original designs! Ziploc baggies were provided for the students' puzzles to be brought home securely since they had so many loose pieces. Their descriptions were then used as artist statements on Artsonia!
There's so much we could do with this idea in the future! Contact local toy stores to go along with our scenario? Bring in a guest artist to explain how their company sells designs? There's room to improve in the future!
Here are some finished examples along with their descriptions:
"My picture is a horse. I think customers would buy it because it is fun for children. So buy it for 4.99 plus tax!"
"I chose a panda because panda's are real and you can watch them play."
"It is a picture of the word ART. I think customers would buy this because people like art"
"My picture is a peacock. I think customers would want to buy my puzzle because they like birds."
"My picture is Feniken and Swiley and Pokeball from Pokemon. Customers would buy this because Pokemon is fun, colorful, and creative."
"My picture is Spongebob. I think customers are going to buy my puzzle because a lot of people like to watch Spongebob."
"My picture is super red (angry birds). Angry birds is so popular, so customers would buy this."
"This puzzle is Batman and his batmobile in Gotham City. I think that customers would like the details."
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