SingaPlural

For SingaPlural, the anchor event of Singapore Design Week themed “A State in Play”, we created a life-sized pop-up “Play Book” — a portable and immersive installation designed to spark imaginative play in children.

The idea emerged from a desire to expose young children to creative play in a unique and hands-on way. Research into early childhood development showed that children learn best through sensory exploration — observing, touching, and doing. To deepen our understanding, we spoke with parents of children aged three and above to identify gaps in learning through play. Two key concerns surfaced: limited home space and toy safety.

This led us to design a pretend play environment that was easy to set up, store, and safe for young users. We chose materials that were lightweight, collapsible and child-friendly. Through several design iterations and scaled mock-ups, we tested usability, durability, and visual appeal, refining the concept at each step.

The final outcome was a self-standing 3D structure made from corrugated cardboard. Compact when closed (1,100mm high by 800mm wide), it unfolded into four vibrant zig-zag panels. Inspired by pop-up books, the panels featured illustrated environments such as a window, door, and kitchenette with shelves and a washing machine. Children were invited to bring their own toys to personalise their play experience and enrich the tactile, imaginative setting.

Exhibiting the Play Book at SingaPlural gave us valuable opportunities for live user testing and feedback. These insights continue to shape future iterations of the design, with the goal of creating even safer, more engaging, and enriching environments for imaginative learning.