Educational Product Design
Designing hands-on educational experiences that combined craft, design, and engineering.
About My Work
As a Design Engineer at Teknikio, I designed educational products that made engineering approachable through creativity. My work brought together product design, instructional design, visual communication, and classroom teaching to help beginners build confidence through making.
I designed electronics kits, developed tutorials, created classroom activities, and produced the instructional materials that supported them. Every project was tested with students through workshops and after-school programs across New York City. Those experiences shaped my design process, revealing opportunities to simplify instructions, improve materials, and create more engaging learning experiences.
I also contributed to an online wearable electronics curriculum developed in partnership with Mouse.org, helping expand access to STEM education for underserved schools.
Shivering Penguin Set
Product Design, Prototyping, Instructional Design, Packaging Design, User Research
The Shivering Penguin is a plush toy that begins to shake when its wing is pressed against its belly, completing a soft switch that powers a vibrating motor.
The project began as an experimental prototype I created with our electronics modules. After receiving an enthusiastic response, I redesigned it as a retail kit. I refined the construction through multiple rounds of prototyping, simplified the sewing pattern, designed the packaging, and wrote and illustrated the assembly instructions so the project would be approachable for first-time makers.
The kit is still available today, and the packaging system I helped develop continues to be used across the product line.
Electronic Beading Kit
Product Design, Material Research, Instructional Design, Packaging Design, User Research
The Electronic Beading Kit combined traditional jewelry making with wearable electronics. By fastening the bracelet in different ways, makers completed different circuits that changed the color of the RGB LED.
Developing the kit required learning traditional jewelry-making techniques and collaborating with a local bead supplier to select materials that felt authentic to the craft. I designed the product, developed the learning experience, created the packaging, and wrote and illustrated the instructions. Throughout development, I tested the project with both children and adults to ensure it was engaging, intuitive, and accessible to beginners.
Light Up Wristband
Learning Experience Design, Instructional Design, Curriculum Design, Technical Writing, Illustration
The Light-Up Wristband was designed as an introduction to soft circuits using only a few simple materials: felt, conductive thread, a sewable LED, a battery board, and a snap closure that acted as a switch.
The project intentionally kept the electronics simple so learners could focus on understanding the fundamentals of sewing and circuitry. Closing the snap and seeing the LED light up provided an immediate sense of accomplishment while reinforcing how the circuit worked. I developed the tutorial, wrote the instructional content, and created illustrations that made the project easy to follow in classrooms and at home.
Light Up Face Mask
Learning Experience Design, Instructional Design, Technical Writing, Illustration, Digital Fabrication
Created as a Halloween project, the Light-Up Face Mask introduced parallel circuits by powering two LEDs from a single battery. Rather than encouraging learners to recreate a single design, the tutorial invited them to customize their own costumes using wearable electronics.
I reimagined an existing project by rewriting the instructional content, creating new illustrations, and designing templates that could be used with scissors, die-cut machines, or laser cutters. The project continued to serve as an introductory activity in wearable electronics workshops.
Packaging & Print Design
Visual Design, Information Design, Packaging Design, Brand Design
In addition to educational products, I designed packaging, instructional materials, and marketing assets that supported the product line.
One of my first projects was helping establish a new packaging system that became the foundation for future kit releases and is still in use today. I also designed instruction booklets, promotional graphics, business cards, and branded notebooks. Throughout this work, I treated packaging and documentation as part of the learning experience, using clear visual hierarchy and thoughtful information design to make electronics feel welcoming instead of intimidating.
Workshops & Classes
Curriculum Design, Workshop Facilitation, User Research, Learning Experience Design, STEM Education
Designing educational products meant spending as much time in classrooms as at my desk. I regularly brought prototypes into workshops, observed how students interacted with projects, and used those insights to improve instructions, materials, and activities.
I taught workshops for children and adults throughout New York City, including Inventor's Club at the United Nations International School, introductory wearable electronics courses, and programming workshops where students built interactive toys and accessories. Those experiences reinforced the value of designing with learners rather than simply designing for them, a perspective that continues to shape my approach to user-centered design today.
