Emily Annalise Quinn
I am a user-focused industrial designer with a strong passion for attractive, interactive products, providing creative solutions to day-to-day experiences. With a keen interest in mental health, sociology and education, I believe innovative product design can create real-world change for all.
my mood blocks.
Despite the increasing prevalence of diagnosed Autism Spectrum Condition in the UK, a lack of standardised support for both children and primary caregivers puts onerous responsibility on families to provide critical socio-emotional learning in the home. Whilst autism-friendly products exist to tackle this, they are often targeted at clinical markets, making them largely inaccessible to those who require them most.
There remains a need in the UK to provide affordable, autism-friendly products to children requiring additional support in learning and understanding emotions, allowing them to reach their full potential.
my mood blocks. is a series of magnetic construction blocks designed to help children aged 5+ understand and communicate emotion. By combining and stacking blocks, users can identify expressions, feelings and behaviours through colour association to improve relationships or discuss their own experiences. The versatile toy gives children the opportunity to communicate no matter their verbal ability.
“The my mood blocks. prototype has emerged from significant interaction, communicating and engaging with stakeholders and autistic children around developing a novel, interactive tool for communication. my mood blocks. has the potential to mediate or encourage a collaborative conversation around a child’s wellbeing and current state.” - Dr Will Farr