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Designing a toy means carrying an idea beyond the first exciting sketch or working prototype: CrunchLabs designers described a process that runs from inspiration and brainstorming through collaboration, prototyping and iteration toward a finished product that can be factory-made. Their panel at Maker Faire Bay Area 2024 offered a view of that work—and of the hurdles between a clever concept and a toy built for many people to use.
From inspiration to a finished product
The panel, titled “Building Play,” brought together CrunchLabs designers Danielle Gleason, Mason Landon Smith, Evan Barnes, Dan Tompkins and Bam Singhasaneh. Make: framed the conversation for both budding inventors and seasoned makers, focusing on how ideas move from concept toward finished products. The event preview introduced the subjects of inspiration, prototyping, iteration and mass production; Make:’s later report described the discussion and examples shown at the session.
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That arc matters because a toy is not finished merely because an idea is appealing or a prototype works once. The panel’s framing places both creative development and the path to a factory-fabricated product inside toy design. A prototype can demonstrate a possibility; making that possibility into a product intended for mass production presents a different set of hurdles.
Why prototypes are only one part of the work
Make: reported that the panel showed prototypes and discussed hurdles connected with the Sand Garden and Infrared Turret kits. The coverage does not provide specifications for either kit or a technical comparison between them, so they are best understood here as examples brought into a conversation about design—not as case studies with published build details.
Prototyping and iteration featured in the event description and report. In this context, iteration is the movement from an initial concept through versions that can be examined and refined. The sources establish that the designers discussed this process, but do not prescribe a particular sequence, material, test, or engineering technique. What they do make clear is that the prototype-to-product transition, especially when production is at scale, is a design challenge in its own right.
Brainstorming and collaboration are part of toy design
The Make: report also presents brainstorming and collaboration as parts of the team’s work. That is a useful reminder for makers: toy design is not portrayed as a solitary flash of invention followed by straightforward fabrication. Ideas develop through shared work as they are considered, prototyped and iterated toward a product.
CrunchLabs describes its team’s purpose in a statement reproduced by Make: and credited to the “CrunchLabs Team”: “We’re a small team of fun-loving engineers, designers, and makers led by Mark Rober, our Head EnginNerd & former NASA engineer. Our goal is to teach kids how to Think Like an Engineer (because who better to teach children engineering than childish engineers!?) To us, thinking like an engineer isn’t about a profession or degree path, it’s a hands-on approach that helps you accomplish whatever you set your mind to. Even if that’s starting a toy company! We hope you have as much fun with our toys as we do.” This is the team’s statement, not a quotation attributed to Rober or to an individual panelist.
What makers can take from the panel
The panel’s broadest practical lesson is to treat a project’s destination as part of its design. A maker can begin with inspiration and an idea, then use prototypes and iteration to develop it; if the aim is a finished, factory-fabricated toy, the maker must also reckon with the distinct challenge of mass production. The coverage supports that overall progression, but not a detailed recipe or technical checklist.
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For a personal project, the panel’s themes still offer a useful lens: make room for brainstorming, work collaboratively when it helps, and regard early prototypes as steps toward a more complete object rather than proof that the design is finished. Those themes apply across experience levels, while the specific production hurdles will depend on the project.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the published account does not establish
Make: says the panel shared Mark Rober’s “#1 piece of advice” for the team’s designs, but its report does not reproduce the advice. It also does not provide detailed, individually attributed technical lessons from the panelists. Without a verified transcript or recording, there is no basis to supply the missing advice or assign specific design methods to a particular speaker.
Nor do the two published accounts give statistics on design success, costs, timelines or failure rates. The reliable picture is a reported event conversation about inspiration, teamwork, prototypes, iteration and the challenges of turning concepts into products for mass production.
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