We decided a few of us should independantly put together designs and compare the results and the reasoning behind them, forcing us to each think about the design ourselves and come up with our own ideas, and not know what other people were thinking when we were deciding.
Above is the design I put together.
I wanted the design to be really basic so that there would be nothing a child might find confusing. So all it is is a screen, pen and buttons. The shape is intentionally large with smooth edges, as clearly sharp or pointed edges are dangerous for a child. The screen is the focal point of the console, so it is large and central, with the controls framing it. The pen is chunky so that it is easy to grip for the child.
We had talked about ways of controlling the console and not really come to any conclusions. The only thing we decided was that the controls should be very simple and easy to use. The use of buttons appeals to me as the easiest and most intuitive way to control the device, hence in the design I have included two types of buttons, clearly separate from each other spatially and by formation, as well as in shape and size. This is so that each can be assigned common functions, separately from each other, that the child would be able to get to know, and which would be continuous with the functionality of the system, so that the child can easily get to know how to use it. An example of how to use this could be having the controls for what program you are in on the larger buttons to the sides, which would be constant, then have the bottom set of buttons as the controls for those individual programs, when you are in them.
The idea of using big chunky buttons as I have done, as opposed to simple on screen buttons, is that by having them separate from the screen would simplify the on screen display, as it would not have to show buttons, it would just have to display the graphics for the program that would be running. Also children respond largely using touch and having chunky buttons would be a something nice and tactile for them to interact with. The act of physically manipulating something in order to get a result would also make the functionality or the buttons much more tangible for the child.
If the buttons are to control the various functionality of the console as proposed it is clear that the design lacks any detail as to images or messages on the buttons to let the child know what they do. This is because we had an idea about the screen surroundings that may be a really nice feature for introducing an adaptive nature to the console and it’s buttons. Clearly different programs will require different things from the consoles buttons, even if it is only the bottom set of controls, and having only one set of images or messages for all programs is not going to be sufficient. So what we envisaged is that the whole console including buttons (excluding screen which would be separate) would be made out of a clear protective plastic or something, with a plasma screen type functionality imbedded underneath, so that on the surface of the whole thing can be displayed any images we like. This would mean that the body colours could be changed and simple images could be displayed, to suit the program being used. It would also mean that the display on the buttons could be changed to suit the program being used, meaning that the controls could be changed for each program and their new functionality could be communicated through new images or message to the child letting them know what the buttons will do.
The advantages of this technology will mean that the console could be much more versatile, and could have much more intuitive adaptive controls. Of course this technology doesn’t quite exist yet, but with display technology as it is it is easy to imagine that something like this really wouldn’t be too difficult to produce with current technology. The idea of it is not to make the body of the console an exact extension of the screen, as we don’t want the body of the console to be interactive, and this would seriously confuse the whole user interaction of the unit. What we want is for the screen to be separate to the body, in terms of appearance, feel and location. The design, although not clear from the individual drawing, involves the screen being slightly inset from the body, so that it is visibly different and the child would be able to feel the change from body to screen. The quality of images displayed within the body would not be of the same visual quality of those displayed on the screen, they would not be of the same resolution and detail, and would have to have different colour qualities, for example being slightly more washed out, the scale should be different too so that they could not appear a continuation of the scene set within the screen. This would ensure that the screen and body appeared very separate, keeping the focus still on the screen, but allowing the body appearance to compliment what is on the screen, and allowing the buttons to display whatever they want.
A console like this for children needs to be seriously protected, especially if it is going to have the kind of display technology we are thinking about inside. We have had a brief look at protection and there is a lot of fantastic protective technologies around. The Apple Ipod’s are a notoriously easy to scratch and damage, but because their beautiful aesthetics are such an important feature there are a massive amount of protective accessories available. Here are a few that could be useful in combination with our product.
http://www.speckproducts.com/vid-seethru.html
Above is a completely clear, hard plastic case for the Ipod video (probably the easiest Ipod to damage). Something like this would be a good surface to surround the console with, as it is very tough, shock absorption would be nill, and impacts would break components pretty easily.
http://www.iskins.co.uk/iskin_evo3.htm
This is the Ipod soft silicon case. They are a soft option to prevent scratches and have a really nice feel to them. They won’t provide as good protections as the hard case, but feel really nice and give great grip, and probably provide some degree of shock absorption.
http://www.iskins.co.uk/h2o_audio_waterproof_ipod_video_case.htm
This is the water proof case for the video Ipod. It is hard and clear like the above hard case, but also water proof. Water Resistance is going to be a real consideration for our product, as children are likely to be messy and spill liquids on it.
We had talked about ways of controlling the console and not really come to any conclusions. The only thing we decided was that the controls should be very simple and easy to use. The use of buttons appeals to me as the easiest and most intuitive way to control the device, hence in the design I have included two types of buttons, clearly separate from each other spatially and by formation, as well as in shape and size. This is so that each can be assigned common functions, separately from each other, that the child would be able to get to know, and which would be continuous with the functionality of the system, so that the child can easily get to know how to use it. An example of how to use this could be having the controls for what program you are in on the larger buttons to the sides, which would be constant, then have the bottom set of buttons as the controls for those individual programs, when you are in them.
The idea of using big chunky buttons as I have done, as opposed to simple on screen buttons, is that by having them separate from the screen would simplify the on screen display, as it would not have to show buttons, it would just have to display the graphics for the program that would be running. Also children respond largely using touch and having chunky buttons would be a something nice and tactile for them to interact with. The act of physically manipulating something in order to get a result would also make the functionality or the buttons much more tangible for the child.
If the buttons are to control the various functionality of the console as proposed it is clear that the design lacks any detail as to images or messages on the buttons to let the child know what they do. This is because we had an idea about the screen surroundings that may be a really nice feature for introducing an adaptive nature to the console and it’s buttons. Clearly different programs will require different things from the consoles buttons, even if it is only the bottom set of controls, and having only one set of images or messages for all programs is not going to be sufficient. So what we envisaged is that the whole console including buttons (excluding screen which would be separate) would be made out of a clear protective plastic or something, with a plasma screen type functionality imbedded underneath, so that on the surface of the whole thing can be displayed any images we like. This would mean that the body colours could be changed and simple images could be displayed, to suit the program being used. It would also mean that the display on the buttons could be changed to suit the program being used, meaning that the controls could be changed for each program and their new functionality could be communicated through new images or message to the child letting them know what the buttons will do.
The advantages of this technology will mean that the console could be much more versatile, and could have much more intuitive adaptive controls. Of course this technology doesn’t quite exist yet, but with display technology as it is it is easy to imagine that something like this really wouldn’t be too difficult to produce with current technology. The idea of it is not to make the body of the console an exact extension of the screen, as we don’t want the body of the console to be interactive, and this would seriously confuse the whole user interaction of the unit. What we want is for the screen to be separate to the body, in terms of appearance, feel and location. The design, although not clear from the individual drawing, involves the screen being slightly inset from the body, so that it is visibly different and the child would be able to feel the change from body to screen. The quality of images displayed within the body would not be of the same visual quality of those displayed on the screen, they would not be of the same resolution and detail, and would have to have different colour qualities, for example being slightly more washed out, the scale should be different too so that they could not appear a continuation of the scene set within the screen. This would ensure that the screen and body appeared very separate, keeping the focus still on the screen, but allowing the body appearance to compliment what is on the screen, and allowing the buttons to display whatever they want.
A console like this for children needs to be seriously protected, especially if it is going to have the kind of display technology we are thinking about inside. We have had a brief look at protection and there is a lot of fantastic protective technologies around. The Apple Ipod’s are a notoriously easy to scratch and damage, but because their beautiful aesthetics are such an important feature there are a massive amount of protective accessories available. Here are a few that could be useful in combination with our product.
http://www.speckproducts.com/vid-seethru.html
Above is a completely clear, hard plastic case for the Ipod video (probably the easiest Ipod to damage). Something like this would be a good surface to surround the console with, as it is very tough, shock absorption would be nill, and impacts would break components pretty easily.
http://www.iskins.co.uk/iskin_evo3.htmThis is the Ipod soft silicon case. They are a soft option to prevent scratches and have a really nice feel to them. They won’t provide as good protections as the hard case, but feel really nice and give great grip, and probably provide some degree of shock absorption.
http://www.iskins.co.uk/h2o_audio_waterproof_ipod_video_case.htmThis is the water proof case for the video Ipod. It is hard and clear like the above hard case, but also water proof. Water Resistance is going to be a real consideration for our product, as children are likely to be messy and spill liquids on it.
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