Danna Banki - Everything Can be Inspiration!
What do you do in the industry?
I'm a freelance game inventor.
Why and how did you get into the Toy and Game industry?
I studied art history and theatre design. I worked for many years as a window and retail designer.
I adopted a street cat. I illustrated it and made short comics. I designed a toy, a cat inside a dustbin. After a while, I developed a game. None of these were published, but I continued developing other kid's games and games to the whole family.
What are you working on now?
I work on games that weren't ready for the Nuremberg International Toy Fair, and I work on new games.
How do you develop a game?
I write ideas in my notebooks, I sketch the idea and look for materials to design the game. If it is a card game, I draw and paint the cards and work on the computer to make a prototype. If the game is a board game, I make a prototype from the materials I choose. I test the prototype with kids from the local school, we play in small groups, and according to their reactions and critics I make corrections. I continue to test the game with adults and learn from the feedback.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Kids testing my prototypes and kids playing with my games.
What and/or who inspires you?
Everything, my family, nature, art, math, architecture, history, future, science…
What was your favorite toy or game as a child?
My favorite game/toy was Playmobil, I also loved playing cards and Rummikub.
Where were you born?
Tel Aviv, Israel.
Where did you grow up and how did that influence who you are today?
I grew up in Israel, in Tel Aviv, in an arty home. My mother and my grandmother were fashion designers and had a family business. I saw and learned the development of a product- from the idea, the design, the sketches, choosing the materials and the fabrics, printing on the fabrics, making the model, and after a long process, the final product.
Summer of Winter?
Winter (in Iceland) the whole year...
What's next?
Continue creating and inventing games
