Projects

I believe we can put the fun in function.

My work invites playful participation and strives to extend material life — across physical products, services, and public installations. To learn how I put these ideals into practice, check out the projects below.

ALL PROJECTS

PROJECT

THRIFT SPOT

Digital tool  · 2025

WHAT IF IT WAS EASY TO FIND AND SHARE LOCAL TREASURES?

Over 10 million tons of furniture get landfilled in the US every year — much of it perfectly good. ThriftSpot lets you scan an item, see what it's worth, and list it for sale locally or on eBay in a few taps. ThriftSpot enables users to identify items, check market value and list them for sale (locally or on eBay) in a few taps.

ALL PROJECTS

PROJECT

COMPOST LEAGUE

Digital tool · 2025

A website screenshot for Compost League with a headline asking "Got Compost?" and buttons labeled "No" and "Yes." There is a cartoon smiling worm wearing a red headband.

WHAT IF THERE WERE CITY-WIDE COMPOST COMPETITIONS?

Food waste is responsible for 8% of global emissions. Composting can fix a chunk of that — but only if people actually do it. Inspired by the power of collective action and based on research into gamification, Compost League turns a chore into a friendly neighborhood competition.

Try it ↗
A rough sketch of a smiling person with a big mouth and visible teeth, with short, tousled hair, drawn with black pen on white paper.
Cartoon worms with facial expressions and numbered gloves, with speech bubbles and text promoting composting.
Screenshot of a website titled 'Compost League' showing total pounds composted and car miles not driven. The page includes buttons for different time periods and rankings, with cartoon characters of a worm and a finger-styled character.
Screenshot of a compost league leaderboard with four top users' impact data, featuring cartoon worms on either side, one wearing a foam finger with the number 1 and the other waving, set against a colorful background.
An animated cartoon character resembling a mummy with a headband, partially submerged in water, with text saying 'No compost?!' and a statement about food waste coming from homes.
A digital interface showing environmental impact statistics and a compost bin management tool with cartoon worms on the sides, one worm with a red headband and another with a green foam finger.
Cartoon worm with a green headband smiling with a necklace and extended arm.
ALL PROJECTS

PROJECT

PLAY PATH

Playground design  · 2025

Two foldable lawn chairs, one black with white frame on the ground and another red and yellow chair leaning on grass, in a backyard setting.

WHAT IF KIDS DESIGNED
THEIR OWN PLAYGROUND?

Where kids can play, communities get healthier and healthcare costs go down. So why are good playgrounds so rare? To address this challenge, KABOOM! and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation launched the Play Everywhere Challenge with the design brief to make play more accessible. Our winning concept: the best playground designers are the kids who use them.

We created gamified “design workshops in a box” mailing kits to over 60 local families. After prototyping together in social pods and over Zoom and generating some wild ideas - our team refined them for production. The Play Path now lives in East Aurora, NY.

Outdoor scene with colorful modular playground equipment on grassy field surrounded by trees.
Child and adult working together to assemble a piece of outdoor furniture, with various window frames and children playing in the background.
Unopened cardboard box labeled 'Playpath Design Activity Kit' on a blue table with yellow tissue paper, craft materials, and pinecones nearby.
A small model of a bicycle with paper decorations attached to it, placed on a perforated cork surface.
A small model or sculpture of a structure made from white plastic parts connected with green and purple rubber bands, mounted on a piece of cardboard.
A small wooden and plastic mechanical structure with pipes, strings, and painted components on a white surface.
A young boy with a face mask playing a tabletop game with cards and game pieces on a table in a classroom or activity room.
Person's hands working with medical or scientific supplies on a wooden table, with papers, a pen, and small plastic parts nearby.
Child’s hands working on a small craft project with foam and wooden sticks on a wooden work surface.
Outdoor scene with a sign promoting the Play Everywhere Design Challenge and a large overturned red and white seat on the grass.
Child sliding down an outdoor playground slide with a woman standing nearby in a park, both wearing masks.
Two women setting up portable foldable privacy screens outdoors in a grassy area with trees and picnic tables.
Young man in a gray hoodie inside a cardboard roller coaster prop outdoors
View inside a colorful children's play tent with red, yellow, black, and blue fabric panels and a padded floor, outdoor green scenery seen through the open entrance.
Children at a playground, with one child lying on a yellow padded surface inside a white arch-shaped play tunnel, while two other children stand nearby, wearing masks and winter clothing, in a wooded outdoor area.
Two children playing on and around colorful wooden ramps in a park with trees, grass, and picnic tables.
Person building a makeshift obstacle course with plastic chairs and sports equipment on grass
Child climbing on a yellow and white playground slide in a grassy area with adults in the background.
ALL PROJECTS

PROJECT

WATERSIDE GOBBLER

Public installation · 2019

A blue bird-shaped water bottle holder with a plastic water bottle inside, placed on a teal surface.

WHAT IF LITTER PICKING WAS GAMIFIED?

Unless its captured, plastic litter eventually makes its way downstream to rivers and oceans. Turns out, when picking up trash is fun, people line up to do it. The Waterside Gobbler was designed as a plastic fishing game for urban waterways that connects citizens to this global problem in a engaging and playful activation.

Created during while at the RCA, prototyped and tested as a temporary installation throughout the canals of London, the Gobbler received unsolicited applause from passing boaters and prompted requests from pedestrians who wanted to try, demonstrating that play is a trigger for pro-social behavior.

A man is looking at his phone while standing next to an upside-down red and blue prop guitar on a playground with fallen leaves, trees, and bushes in the background.
A cluttered workshop table with metal parts, tools, a cordless drill, and miscellaneous hardware. In the background, there are shelves and a black trash bag.
A child is balancing on a colorful, robotic playground structure at a science or innovation exhibit with several onlookers observing.
A woman on a sidewalk near a canal, holding a small blue and orange boat with her right hand, and appearing to throw or retrieve something from the water. There are colorful boats docked along the canal in the background, with trees and buildings lin
A robot designed to look like a dinosaur, made with various scraps and mechanical parts, standing in a room with pink walls, next to desks and chairs.
A line drawing of a mechanical rehabilitation or exercise wheelchair, with a frame, arm supports, and a sliding mechanism.
Man collecting water samples using a device by a riverbank with a bucket and debris.
Sketch of a bicycle with detailed design elements and measurements.
3D wireframe model of removable helmet parts and a green helmet faceplate on a gray background
ALL PROJECTS

PROJECT

CANU BLOCKS

Toy design · 2011

Several wooden puzzle pieces, some assembled into different shapes, scattered on a white background.

WHAT IF A TOY GREW WITH OUR ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND IT?

Inspired by developmental psychology frameworks - CanU is a set of modular building blocks designed to spark open-ended creative play that engages kids and challenges adults.

This project embodies the fundamentals we still use today — prototyping quickly, testing with real users, and designing systems that invite participation rather than prescribe behavior. It was also a demonstration of how physical products can generate a range of pro-social behaviors and how human interactions evolve as we age from kids to adults.

A wooden sculpture of a dinosaur, built from interlocking wooden blocks, standing on a flat surface with a light gray background.
Several wooden blocks of different sizes and shapes stacked to form towers on a white background.
Sketches of geometric objects, including spheres, cones, and cubes, with some objects in wireframe and shaded forms, and a pair of hands with a pencil and a spiral notebook.
A large dinosaur sculpture made from interlocking wooden blocks, resembling a T-Rex.
Children playing with wooden blocks at a street table, with a sign asking, "Can U play?" and a busy city street in the background.
Various wooden puzzle pieces arranged randomly on a white background.
Children playing and arranging wooden blocks with patterns on a table in a classroom.
Two children and an adult playing with wooden puzzle pieces and LEGO toys on a stone surface.
Group of children gathered around a table watching a tower of wooden blocks with a small cross on top, inside a classroom with colorful art displays in the background.
ALL PROJECTS

PROJECT

ATLAS CIRCULAR

Digital tool  · 2022

WHAT IF WE MAPPED PLACES TO REUSE, REPAIR, RESELL, AND REGENERATE?

The circular economy can feel abstract. It is a systems-level concept disconnected from daily life. But repair shops, tool libraries, refill stations, and material exchanges already exist in many communities. They're just invisible. This project aimed to make them visible.

Starting with NYC, Atlas Circular is an open-source map that makes locally available circular resources findable — places to repair, reuse, upcycle, and shop zero-waste near you.

Web page featuring an article titled "Circular Design: What is the Digital Product Passport, Kenny Arnold?" with a photo of a person holding a smartphone displaying a QR code in front of clothing. The page has a red header with navigation links.
A person lying on their side on top of a colorful mat or blanket, wearing glasses, a cap, and outdoor clothing, stretching with arms extended, in an outdoor setting with green trees and path.
A person smiling, wearing a red shirt and patterned shorts, standing behind a colorful robot made from recycled materials, including a plastic bottle and a cartoonish blue face with eyes.
Screenshot of WIVB 4 news website featuring a news story about East Aurora's Rural Outreach Center receiving $50,000 to build a 'Play Path' with a photo of a news anchor.
A digital magazine page featuring Kenny Arnold, a circular designer from the MacArthur Foundation, discussing digital product passports, their importance, and sustainability. The page includes images of denim jeans and a person scanning a QR code on

HAVE A WORTHY CHALLENGE?

From masterful facilitation for cross-functional collaboration to landscape analysis and strategic recommendations — Kenny helps teams to design for what's next.

If you have a product you want to take apart, a roadmap to build, or a team to upskill — let’s chat.

Get in touch →