1. donutholes
small things that fill little voids
Katherine Lee
Midterm Mania
March 26, 2009

2. More Customizability
• Shoes
• Cars
• Electronics

3. Thesis Concept
An effective customization tool must empower
the user to make something they personally
connect with.
Customization that incorporates some element
of the user’s feelings or persona fosters a
sense of ownership.

4. Proposition
A web-based customization tool that allows
users to design plush creatures or soft
objects using…
– A selection of base body shapes
– Facial features like eyes, mouths
– Appendages like legs, arms, tails, etc.
– Skins from existing color/print
selection & from custom uploads (custom
digital printing)

5. Why I Am Doing This
• There is currently nothing like this
– Closest things = Build-a-Bear Workshop
(shudder) and super-expensive monster
kit
• People feel an affinity for soft, plush
things
– they’re comforting and can assume many
identities
– they can have a personal value separate
from your public persona

6. Design Questions
• Why do people customize things?
• Who customizes things?
• What kinds of things do people customize?
• What makes a customization tool fulfilling
or satisfying to use?
• What makes people like what they’ve made?
• What gives people a sense of ownership
over something they’ve customized?

7. Make My Own Monster

8. Dunkin Donuts Make Your Own Donut

9. Marvel Create Your Own Super Hero

10. Spore Creature Creator

11. Why People Customize Stuff
• to make things they care about or are
proud of
• to make something that reflects something
about themselves
• to feel rich
• to have something unique
• because it’s fun
Goal: to design a joyful interactive
experience in which everything the
user chooses to do feels like the
right thing to do

12. Target Users
• Designer toy
enthusiasts
• Kids
• People who give
really personalized
gifts

21. Prototype Testing

22. Considerations
• Make it easy to “try things on”
• Making the creation process less
structured
• More options for everything to enable more
personalities
– More flair
– Ears and noses
– Themes?
• Color

23. For Symposium
• Demo of customization tool
• 5 examples of objects created with tool
• Project vision

24. Schedule
Week of:
March 21 – create forms and MCs for
all forms in Flash
March 28 – make more forms, concept
testing + program selection tool
April 4 – program selection tool,
visualization tool
April 11 – scale/rotation + QA testing
April 18 – QA testing, fine-tune site,
make more demo products
April 26 – QA for site + Symposium

25. Life After Symposium
• Online customization tool
• Ability to order your creation
and have it made and sent to
you
• Interactive environment for the
community of user creations
• Crowdsource to make the most
popular creations available

26. Thanks!