Sha Yang's Movable Wooden Animals: A New Spin on Traditional Toys

Golden A' Design Award Winner Brings Imagination to Life with Innovative Toy Design

Sha Yang's inspiration for these movable wooden animals came from observing children's behaviors and studying the structures of automata and mechanical toys. The result is a collection of five animals: a pig, duck, giraffe, snail, and dinosaur, each moving in its unique way. The abstract shapes of these toys encourage children to use their imagination, turning these simple toys into anything they desire.

What sets these toys apart is their diverse movements. The duck's head moves from right to left as if saying "no," the giraffe's head moves up and down, and the pig's nose, the snail's, and dinosaur's heads move from inside to outside when their tails are turned. These movements not only bring joy but also encourage children to interact with the toys in various ways, such as pulling and pushing the tails or turning the heads.

The toys are made entirely of natural wooden materials, specifically Sapele and Beech. The biggest challenge in their creation, as noted by Sha Yang, was designing the inner structures to ensure the movements worked perfectly. This required precise drilling of holes in the wooden balls and finding the exact center in each ball.

The toys are compact, with the main ball body size being 80*80*80mm. Despite their small size, they pack a lot of fun and imagination. They are a testament to Sha Yang's belief in the power of simplicity and elementary design in children's toys. As Hils (1959) noted in "The toy, its value, construction, and use," children particularly love simple toys because their imaginations can turn them into anything.

Sha Yang's movable wooden animals are not just toys; they are a celebration of design, imagination, and the joy of play. They are a reminder that even in an age of digital entertainment, traditional toys can still captivate and inspire. These toys are indeed, in the words of the Golden A' Design Award committee, "marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom."