Designing for Children

Here are the slides from a workshop I lead at UX Lisbon in May 2012 about designing for kids. It has information on researching and designing for children from 2-12.

Transcript

1. DESIGNING FOR CHILDREN
   Debra Levin Gelman | @dgelman
2. “...the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.”
3. “...the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.”
4. “...the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” kids
5. LET’S PLAY!
6. Designing for kids is different than designing for adults.
7. Designing for kids is different than designing for adults. BUT HOW?
8. Designing for kids is similar to designing for adults.
9. Designing for kids is similar to designing for adults. BUT HOW?
10. LET’S TALK DESIGN
11. 2-5 YEAR OLDS
13. { smack that gugl }
14. details, details, details
15. { jungle junction }
17. { seussville }
19. one purpose, one action
20. { sprout } { disney jr } { nick jr }
22. gestures & metaphor
23. { color mix } { nick jr }
26. { toca monsters}
27. 2-5 YEAR OLDS • COLOR: Pick 4 or 5 bright colors & use them to communicate purpose, task & functionality • VISUAL HIERARCHY: Separate foreground & background so kids can focus on the main goals • ONE ACTION PER ELEMENT: Assign a SINGLE function to each interactive element • SYMBOLS & GESTURES: Limit use of metaphors and constrain gestures to those familiar to little hands.
28. 6-9 YEAR OLDS
29. so, how am I doing?
30. { poptropica }
32. let ‘em lose...
33. ...or at least make it interesting When a child gets something wrong: • Play a funny or silly sound (think “sad trombone” • Show a silly animation • Create a simple “runner-up” round • Point out where the child succeeded • Always ALWAYS let the child try again - unlimited “do-overs!”
34. leveling up
35. { fizzy’s lunch lab }
37. these impermanent things
38. { webkinz }
40. 6-9 YEAR OLDS • REINFORCEMENT: Let kids know they’re doing it right by providing visual/audio clues and rewards • LET ‘EM LOSE: Make losing interesting for these kids so they understand what to fix next time and are encouraged to keep trying. Don’t always let them win! • LEVEL UP: Create multiple levels in your experience so that it can grow with the kids you’re designing for. • PERMANENCE: Let kids save, store and share their stuff, or give them something to gather/collect. • SYMBOLS & GESTURES: Limit use of metaphors and
41. 10-12 YEAR OLDS
42. let them break the rules (within reason, of course)
43. { roblox }
45. don’t be lame. whatever.
46. { everloop }
48. “Personally, I think that this is a bit to childish for tweens, it's not really like a networking site. You choose an avatar, a fake e-mail address and more, and it's really animated and childish like. There is nothing bad about it and it's totally safe, but won't appeal that much to tweens.”
49. Whateverloop “I am a user, and in my oppinion, it sucks. I mean it takes forever to set up, then the parent has to set it up or the site blocks you from half the stuff on it, and it ask for a social security number, yeah sure im a kid but i really dont think giving a social security numbers worth it, AND it cost money so fill in the blanks there”
50. post-failure instruction
51. { planet orange }
53. 10-12 YEAR OLDS • INVITE SILLINESS: Make breaking the rules fun! This allows for additional learning and exploration • DON’T TALK DOWN: Respect these kids. Focus on what’s great about your product instead of the fact that it’s “just for kids.” • PROVIDE CONTEXTUAL LEARNING: Instead of front-loading information, let kids learn as they fail, providing information at each step.
54. LET’S PRACTICE
    
55. WHAT DID WE LEARN? • INVITE SILLINESS • DON’T TALK DOWN • PROVIDE CONTEXTUAL LEARNING 10-12 • 4 OR 5 BRIGHT COLORS • SEPARATE FOREGROUND & BACKGROUND • ONE ACTION PER ELEMENT • USE FAMILIAR SYMBOLS & GESTURES 6-9 • BREAK TASKS UP INTO STEPS & PROVIDE FEEDBACK • MAKE LOSING INTERESTING • LET THEM LEVEL UP • PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO SAVE, STORE AND COLLECT 2-5
56. LET’S TALK RESEARCH
57. 2-5 YEAR OLDS • PARENT-CHILD GROUPS • LAB RESEARCH • CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY
58. 6-9 YEAR OLDS • INTERVIEWS/PARENT INTERVIEWS • EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES • PARTICIPATORY DESIGN • FRIEND GROUPS
59. 10-12 YEAR OLDS • IDIs - 1 :: 1 • SCHOOL-BASED RESEARCH • LAB/REMOTE TESTING • SURVEYS
60. IT’S YOUR TURN
61. THANK YOU! Debra Levin Gelman on twitter: @dgelman on email: debra.levin@gmail.com