I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Little Minds
ROLE
UX / UI Designer
TOOLS
DURATION
2 months
Define
Our primary "How to" directive was to create a psychological survey for children that is fun, enjoyable and that doesn't feel like a survey!
How might we create an enjoyable survey experience for children and parents?
-
Design an experience that is entertaining and pleasant.
-
Ensure the process is easy for a child to understand.
-
Ensure the process is easy for a child to understand.
-
Use language and storytelling that would encourage a child to use the app.
Research
As part of our initial dive into the world of child psychology we interviewed children between the ages of four and nine years of age and their parents. We also observed them using their favorite apps and games in order to understand their thinking and awareness levels.
Before we got started we used competitive analysis to investigate if there were any similar products out there in order to confirm that our idea was viable.
Keeping the "how might we" questions in mind I looked for inspiration in visual design, animation, interaction and overall user experience.
Inspiration
When looking for inspiration I was looking for ideas that would bring the idea to life. It had to tell a great story, be bright, fun and accessible.
We looked for the right style and mood of imagery that would help create the world where the story would take shape.
Lean personas
In order to get an idea of the targeted users and align the design around them, lean personas were created. These early personas are created using research cadences, basic user testing and the creation of empathy maps.
Motivations
-
I want to know how to better help my child handle stress and specifically what causes them stress.
Pain Points
-
It's hard to communicate directly to my child.
-
I don't want to go directly to a doctor or psychologist.
Recent parents (Any gender, aged 30 to 40 years old)
-
I want to better understand my child and do what's best for them..
Motivations
-
Sometimes it's fun to play games with my parents.
Pain Points
-
Sometimes I can't express what I feel.
-
I don't confusing stuff that makes me too much.
Child (Any gender, aged 3 to 9 years old)
-
I like play games that have stories and adventures.
The journey
This will be a journey that the parent and their child take together. Out of this journey we targeted three essential steps.
You sit down with your child and open the app. The splash screen is fun and entices your child to join in the adventure.
As you move through the onboarding process, your child follows along as the story begins to unfold.
Your child runs through the questions as you quietly monitor and assist them
Design.
Concepts & ideas
One of the main design challenges was maintaining the effectiveness of the product while making it easy to use and entertaining for children.
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
After sketching the ideas on paper, I moved on to the digital wireframes.
Organization of content, UX writing, animation and use of motion were all key elements of the design thinking. For example, the use of parallax for story telling would have to fit perfectly within the design of the onboarding and question sections.
Onboarding
Questionnaire
Keeping the "how might we" questions in mind I looked for inspiration in visual design, interaction and overall user experience.
Interaction design
Both static design (glyphs, icons, changing colour, shape of controls) and animation of UI not only make an application stand out from the crowd, but are key to the unique experience and usability of this app.
The nature of the design is impacted by several key motivators:
Empathy
Environment
Usability
Accessibility
Mood & colors
A strong visual identity was key in establishing the branding and creating the right environment for the user. Little Minds defines itself in the realms of learning, curiosity and adventure. The mood and branding needed to reflect this spirit.
#3A3266
#D46836
#FFD3AB
#FEF0DC
Illustration
The two dimensional illustration, character animation and parallax transitions were used to create cohesion and flow between sections. It was a playful way of encouraging the user to move through the different stages of the application.
Logo
It was important for the logo and intro page to draw the user directly into the story. I wanted to start the adventure right from the beginning, and introduce a sense of fun and adventure.
Font
Little Minds defines itself in the realms of learning, curiosity and adventure. The font needed to reflect these qualities and had to also create a sense of calm and be easy to read.
