K!nnected

Product Design & UX, NYU Shanghai x Microsoft

Project Info

ROLE
TEAM
INFO
TIME
TOOLS

UX Designer, Team Leader
Sonny Y, Katie L, Thomas Y
NYU Shanghai x Microsoft
2020 - 2021
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Sketch, Cinema4D, Final Cut Pro

How did we start the project?

K!nnected was created during a Thinkathon hosted by NYU Shanghai and Microsoft China
The topic was "How might we help people in quarantine?"

First Round Research

What are the kids going through?

[Chinese kids suffering from anxiety and depression during lockdown]

[Questionnaires distributed to parents]
- What are the kids playing?
- Any symptoms of depression since lockdown?
- What are your main concerns?

First Round Persona

- Worried that kids don't have connections with others
- Have difficulties in balancing work and playtime with kids

- Difficult to meet and play with friends
- Bored of playing alone, hard to make friends

Second Round Research

Talking to the parents and the children

Tianran Qian

NYU Shanghai Instructor

"My twins (aged 3yo at the time) watch Peppa Pig (a kid cartoon show) for almost 5 hours a day. […] they are also not studying at all."

David Hunsaker

NYU Shanghai Professor

"… what gets on my nerves is when I go to the toy store and see all these one time use toys that I would buy and my children won't use."

The Twins

Aged 3 yo at time of project

Interviewer: "Do you like Peppa Pig?"
Twins: [Nod]
Interviewer: "Can I see your favorite toy?"
Twins: [Grabs mommy's phone]

Updated Persona: Consolidate Painpoints

- Worried about the time their kids spend on electronic devices and how they might affect their physical health
- Concerned that kids are not receiving equivalent kindergarten education at home
- Doesn't know what kind of toys would attract the kids for a longer time

- Wants to play on iPads but are not allowed by parents

Competitor Analysis

Lego Mindstorms

Tinkamo

Apple

Educational - Learn hardware while building

Educational - Learn coding logic while building

Educational - Various educational apps

Eye-friendly - No/few screens are involved

Re-playable - same set of components can build into different robots

Re-playable - App store

Fun - Robot would interact with kids

Fun - Robot would give feedback to kids

Fun - Diverse ways of interactions and feedback

Age Range: 7 - 12

Age Range: 5+

Not Eye-friendly with digital screens

Product Ideation: The Toy

- No Screens Involved
- Provide Feedback to Kids
- Various apps could function on it

The Toy - The Board

- Easily Configurable to have new games via a 5x5 board layout
- Good for socializing (almost like chess)The board is made out of wood, which is high quality, healthy, and safe to use
- Hardware is not easily reached and cables are out of the way
- Configurable RGB lighting and sound controls to have more feedback

The Toy - The Cubes

- Easily interchangeable for different shapes that fit (inexpensive)
- Uses RFID Tags that will have different ways to register sides, giving game developers 3D game making possibilities
- Made of smooth rubber and acrylic, which is very durable and safe

- Color Coded and syncs up with board easily (no hassle)
- Meant for education, because you group cubes to things on the board

Prototyping: The Toy

Step 1: Modeling
Step 2: Cardboard Prototype
Step 3: Laser Cut Prototype

Prototyping: The App

- Installed on parent's phone
- Match with the toy
- Purchase & upload games to toy

Prototyping: The Website

- Online K!nnected game developing platform for everyone to create, publish and profit

- Uses block-based coding modules that requires no previous coding experiences

Post Project

Do children and parents love it?

We went back to the twins with our built prototype

If I have more time...

- Develop a higher fidelity prototype of a sample game on the board for user-testing
- User test with more kids and iterate based on their feedback
- Research more in-depth on online game development websites for amateur game designers

Summary

- Researched and identified existing problems in current kids toys
- Designed and prototyped a kids toy that is fun, re-playable, educational and eye-friendly
- Designed and prototyped an ecosystem for K!nnected including kids-end (toy), parents-end (app), developers-end (website)