Communication theory: NYAM
Introduction
This project is based on the constitutive model of communication, which sees communication not as the transfer of information, but as a process of creating meaning through interaction.
Instructions
In many educational products, learning the alphabet follows a transmission model: an adult explains, and a child memorizes. In this case, the child remains a passive receiver.
The brand «NYAM» uses a different approach. A letter is not presented as an abstract symbol, but as a playful object and a task.
Alphabet
Before eating the letter, the child must assemble it into an animal. Through this action, the letter gains meaning through experience, not explanation.
As a result, learning is not imposed. It is constructed through play, interaction, and curiosity.
Presentation for general audience
«NYAM» is a playful educational product created for preschool children. It helps children learn letters and animals through interaction rather than memorization.
Package
Series of packages
In this project, learning happens through play. Letters are designed as physical objects that can be transformed into animals using simple additional elements. Before eating the letter, the child first assembles the animal and recognizes the form.
This interaction turns letters into something meaningful and familiar.
Cards
Instead of abstract symbols, children work with characters and shapes, making learning intuitive and engaging.
«NYAM» encourages curiosity, attention, and exploration.
The child is not guided by instructions but by clear rules and playful discovery. Learning becomes a natural part of the game, not a task imposed from outside.
«NYAM» is created for curious children who learn best through interaction and play.
The brand supports attention, exploration, and enjoyment, showing that learning can be joyful, intuitive, and sweet.
Through simple interaction and reward, «NYAM» shows that learning can be joyful, accessible, and easy to understand.
Presentation for professional audience
«NYAM» treats learning as a communicative interaction, not as content delivery.
Cards
The project is built on a constitutive model of communication, where meaning is created through action rather than instruction.
Letters are designed as modular objects that must be assembled into animals.
Letters
This simple rule turns typography into an interaction system: the letter gains meaning through use, sequence, and reward.
«NYAM» shows how design does not explain meaning, but creates the conditions in which meaning emerges through interaction.
How communication theory shaped the presentations
The presentations are based on the constitutive model of communication, discussed in the online course, which understands communication as a process of meaning-making rather than information transfer.
This perspective determined both the structure and tone of the presentations. Instead of describing the product through features or instructions, the focus was placed on interaction and experience as the source of understanding.
In the two «NYAM» presentations, communication theories serve as the foundation for building the brand’s narrative, visual system, and user experience, forming a cohesive image and explaining its educational value through audience-understandable communication mechanisms. It is important to emphasize that «NYAM» works not only with teaching the alphabet, but also with the process of meaning-making and joyful interaction, and therefore relies on theories that reveal the processes of construction of knowledge, motivation, and persuasive rhetoric. This conscious approach replaces the limitations of the linear Transmission Model with the dynamic Constitutive Model.
The conceptual core of the «NYAM» brand is built upon the Constitutive Model of Communication. This theory manifests in the product’s main mechanism: the letter is presented not as an abstract symbol for memorization, but as a playful object that creates meaning through the child’s direct action. This hands-on experience (assembling the animal) grounds the project in the Phenomenological Tradition of Craig, emphasizing that knowledge is constructed through play and curiosity.
The Narrative Paradigm is central to how «NYAM» speaks about itself and its product. The presentations are built upon a convincing micro-narrative: from a condition (the letter cannot simply be eaten) to an action (assemble the animal), and finally, to a reward. This sequential, emotionally persuasive story makes the learning process intuitive and trustworthy, which is far more effective for children and their parents than dry logic.
Rhetoric and Persuasiveness are applied in positioning «NYAM» as a practical and value-oriented solution. The problem is clearly defined: in many traditional educational products, the child remains a passive receiver, and learning the alphabet follows a tedious, imposed memorization process (Transmission Model). «NYAM» offers a system of supporting tools: sweet modular letters, rules of assembly, and immediate reward. In the presentations, the emphasis is placed so that the audience can see that «Nyam» enhances the quality of learning, reduces the stress of imposed tasks, and creates conditions for joyful, intuitive knowledge construction.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory is reflected in how «NYAM» addresses the child’s real needs. The brand views the child as an Active Audience who is motivated to interact to satisfy specific needs: curiosity, playful exploration, immediate gratification, and a sense of control over the process. The presentations emphasize that «NYAM» competes not just with other educational materials, but with passive leisure, offering a structured interaction that provides the reward of knowledge consolidation and a sense of accomplishment.
The final professional section strategically highlights that the entire visual language of the brand from the modular design of the letters to the cards and instructions is an intentional communication system. The rule of assembly creates the structure that guarantees the active construction of meaning. The Framing used positions the brand as a sophisticated, theory-guided design solution.
In conclusion, these theoretical concepts prove that communication theory is a working tool for «NYAM», not just an abstract idea. They define the brand’s structure, justify its dual communication strategy, and establish a cohesive educational system where the main goal is achieved: knowledge is constructed actively through experience and rewarding interaction with the product.
List of literature and sources of images
The project is based on materials from the Communication Theory course.
Nyam // PORTFOLIO.HSE URL: https://portfolio.hse.ru/Project/145589# (Дата обращения: 12.12.2025)
