Emma's Puggle recognised nationally - 2007

17 May 2007

A QUT graduate who designed a toy to teach children delayed gratification was the only Queensland student award finalist at the recent Dyson Australian Design Awards.

Industrial designer Emma Patterson returned home to Brisbane after the weekend ceremony in Melbourne without the major prize, but thrilled to have been the only Queensland finalist in the top 11 and one of just three in the top 30.

"I didn't think I'd even made the finals because, after the shortlisting, my design had been taken off the awards website,"   Emma said. "I'd just got over it when I realised I was in the top 11."

Emma's design, called Puggle, was created for her final-year QUT Graduate Diploma in Industrial Design project at QUT's School of Design to teach children there are rewards in waiting to get what you want.

Emma said she was inspired to design the toy because she had concerns that the current generation of children would grow up without being "forward thinking".

Puggle is shaped like an echidna or porcupine with round-edged spikes that each feature a light emitting device that allows children to choose from three different games.

"One game involves waiting for spikes to light up before pressing them back in and the other two games require children to press spikes in either an alphabetical or numerical order," Emma, who now works at Diversionary Therapy Technologies, said.

"The interval that children have to wait between spikes lighting up increases, teaching them to practice being patient while they wait. Once they complete the task they are rewarded with a sound and light display from Puggle."

Emma said she was "really surprised and honoured" to be included in the top 11 because, while she realised Puggle was something everyday people liked, she did not expect it to make waves in the design community.

"I wasn't even going to enter and I nearly didn't bother ... because the judging is done by really highly regarded designers," she said.

Emma said the awards gave her the opportunity to develop a new, partially working prototype of Puggle which was more impressive than the original model developed for her university project.

"Now I've got him I can go about convincing people that the product really is worth investing in."

Media contacts: Carmen Myler, QUT media officer, 3138 1150.