Designing Urban Toys to Support Local Traditional Arts

Abstract

This article reports the urban toy design process as a result of the visual style transformation of Wayang Topeng Malang (WTM), one of the traditional arts in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. The visual style which has been acquired by ATUMICS method combines decorative elements on the headpiece (urna, sinom, and cula), the color of the mask, the expression of the mask with a humanoid body shape wearing an urban teenage fashion style. The team designed the looks of the character and discussed it with several stakeholders through focused group discussion (FGD), including performance art academics, WTM Artist, illustrators, and urban toys community in Malang. The FGD conducted twice. The first one is to choose the final design of the character, and the second one is to breakdown models/toy parts. This design process results in a 3D model of urban toy design that is expected to preserve local traditional culture.