Body Blocks stacking toy helps children explore the many shapes a human can take

Beirut designer Davina Atallah has adapted the familiar typology of stacking blocks to create a wooden toy that allows children to explore complex ideas around body image.

Atallah's Body Blocks system comprises painted beechwood heads, torsos and bottoms that can be stacked and flipped to create different characters.

"While most building sets are designed for constructing houses, skyscrapers, or abstract structures, Body Blocks shifts that focus toward constructing the self," Atallah told Dezeen.

"The work starts from a simple question: how can play help children explore their relationship with themselves, their bodies and the world around them?"

The set comprises a range of different forms that help children appreciate the diversity of human body types and shapes that make each person unique.

Some of the blocks introduce anamorphic elements that further stimulate the imagination, allowing human body parts to be combined with wings, tails or hooves to produce fantastical creations.

Children can stack the blocks in various configurations, then rebuild them in different combinations when they fall. Atallah suggested that this regenerative process "encourages persistence and experimentation".

The designer worked closely with children while developing the product, observing how they played best with basic body shapes that minimised constraints and pre-imposed notions of what the outcome should look like.

"It was essential not to overwhelm the design with meaning or symbolism, but to leave space for interpretation," she explained.

"This was achieved by stripping the forms down to their essence, reducing socially recognised visual cues while retaining just enough familiarity for imagination to take over."

Some of the blocks feature abstracted references to wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs, promoting an understanding of different physical realities within a shared system of play.

Body Blocks are available in either the standard building sets for open-ended character play, or as a larger and more sculptural version designed to function as display objects or practical bookends.

The blocks are made from PEFC-certified solid beech wood, hand-stained using organic milk paints and finished with a water-based sealant.

Atallah added that the project responds to the lack of early developmental toys designed to help shape how children conceive the world through play and curiosity, with a specific focus on body diversity.

Based on her previous work creating products for children, the designer recognised how a sense of self and an awareness of the body are established at an early age through everyday encounters.

"While Body Blocks nurtures fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and patience, its true distinction lies in connecting these skills to self-awareness and creative expression," she said.

"Whether playing alone, with friends, or alongside caregivers, Body Blocks spark dialogue about how we see and interpret bodies."

Atallah develops and retails products for children through her brand House Humbaba, which she founded in 2025. She is committed to small-batch production of toys that are designed with a focus on sustainability and longevity.

Bigger companies, too, have increasingly focused on diverse representations in their toy design, with Mattel releasing the first autistic Barbie while Lego launched figurines with sunflower lanyards to represent hidden disabilities.

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