Press Release
Tactile Enrichment Fidget Toys by Ruoyou Zhou Wins the A' Design Award in Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design
Ruoyou Zhou acknowledged for toys, games and hobby products design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Tactile Enrichment Fidget Toys by Ruoyou Zhou has been granted the A' Design Award in the Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the A' Design Award Means
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
Regarding Tactile Enrichment Fidget Toys
Tactile Enrichment is a series of fidget toys that focus on the sense of touch. The series consists of five cubes, each measuring 50 by 50 by 50 millimetres. Every cube is made from a single material: clay, leather, metal, wood or fabric. The same three dimensional pattern is applied to all five cubes, so the difference between materials can be felt by hand. Each material has a different weight, temperature and smell. The cubes can be held and played with while the eyes are busy and the hands are free. The intent is to reduce reliance on vision and give touch a larger role in daily experience.
About Ruoyou Zhou
During her university years, Zhou worked extensively on rehabilitation-focused medical products. That experience taught her that love is often the very force that carries us through times of illness and difficulty. It led her to focus on how products can foster connection between people. Now as a graduate student, she has begun combining this research interest with the five senses, striving to use sensory interaction as a way to support and deepen human communication.
Award Record
With this recognition, Ruoyou Zhou is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design Award
The A' Toy Design Award is an international toy design competition recognizing good toy designs by best toy designers, manufacturers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to toy designers, game studios, industrial designers and hobby product manufacturers from all countries. Typical entries include dolls, action figures, board games, puzzles, plush toys and educational toys. The awarded toy designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/toy
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/182261
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/182261
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!182261
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/380420
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Tactile Enrichment Fidget Toys
- Function
- Fidget Toys
- Category
- Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Kids
- Colors
- Tan, Lavender, Rosy Brown, Burly Wood and Light Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Ruoyou Zhou
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #182261
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- We understand the world through our five senses, receiving emotions and information every day. This project is a series of fidget toys that rethink our sensory habits, which often rely too much on vision. It shifts the focus to touch. The same pattern is made from different materials, allowing users to feel variations in texture and resistance with their hands. By reducing visual input, the work highlights how touch and other senses can become the main source of experience and emotion.
- Inspiration
- In daily life, we often play with small objects to ease anxiety or boredom, clicking a pen or turning keys in our hands. Fidget toys were created from this behavior. Based on this and my research on the five senses, I designed this series using different materials to explore new possibilities. Enrichment in animal care means providing toys or spaces to reduce stress and improve well being. As humans living in concrete cities, we also face stress. This design asks whether we also need enrichment.
- Research
- This project explores tactile experience without relying on sight. About 83 percent of the information we receive comes from vision. When reliance on vision is reduced, the other senses become stronger and more memorable. At the exhibition, visitors could freely touch and play with the objects and write down their thoughts on each material. The interactive display received positive feedback, as interaction is part of the research and the work serves as a bridge between me and the audience.
- Challenge
- The biggest challenge was repetitive work and making sure every piece fit perfectly. To avoid gaps after assembly, each material piece had to be sanded by hand. For the metal cube, thin and hard stainless steel was used. After many trials, I chose laser cutting to shape the pieces, then filled the gaps with putty and finished with spray paint. The most enjoyable process was sewing the leather cube, marking, punching holes, stitching, and tying the thread. I truly enjoyed each step.
- Realization and Technology
- Five materials were used, clay, leather, metal, wood, and fabric. Three dimensional textures were shaped into each material. Then the materials were cut into small pieces and attached to the cube. This required constant checking to ensure every piece fit perfectly after assembly. Each cube has six sides, and I made five cubes in total, like completing a 120 piece collage puzzle in different materials.
- Operation and Interaction
- These objects can be held and played with while watching TV, talking, or even during meetings under the table, any moment when the eyes are busy but the hands are free. The key idea is to enrich touch without relying on vision. Each material has a different weight, temperature, and even smell. Even with the same pattern, different materials create completely different tactile experiences.
- Project Duration and Location
- In April 2023, I began researching the five senses, touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. In July 2024, I focused on the relationship between objects, people, and interaction. By July 2025, I was testing materials and making prototypes, selecting five for further development. Fabrication began in November 2025. The work was completed in February 2026 and presented at the 2026 graduation exhibition of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts.
- Specifications
- 50 × 50 × 50 mm .five pieces.
- Keywords
- Fidget toy, Without Visual Dependence, Touch, Smell, Series, Mixed materials, Toy, Playful
