An Edutainment Platform for Preschoolers
Optimising Screen Time for Children
BRAND AND EXPERIENCE DESIGN
THE PROBLEM
How many times have you seen a child being handed over a phone? When they are fussing over eating? Outside a trial room? When guests come over? Sometimes even as bait? This has become such a common sighting that it might not even strike us as unusual.
THE SCOPE
Children of today’s age are very fascinated by gadgets and have a considerable amount of screen time. This screen time should be optimised in a way that children not only enjoy it, but also learn through it.
Children start learning ever since they’re born. Their young minds are very curious, mouldable and capable of absorbing a lot of information. This is a crucial stage that needs to be carefully catered to.
RESEARCH: THE BUSINESS
Edutainment for preschoolers
WHO?
For preschoolers (3 - 5 years old)
WHY?
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Wide teaching capabilities
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Productive and engaging
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Boosts child development (hand eye coordination, identification, memory, visualisation)
WHAT?
Edutainment = education + entertainment
WHEN?
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When parents are busy - need the child to be engaged
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To keep child busy and distracted
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To help alleviate child's mood
HOW?
Games, videos, stories, interactive experiences
Direct Competitors:
YouTube Kids, Kiddopia, ABC Kids
Indirect Competitors:
Byju's, Flintobox, LogIQids
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INTERVIEWS
Target audience
“I give Ania my phone because I prefer she learns something while playing.”
“Kabir refers to money in dollars and knows more about Halloween and Christmas than Indian festivals.”
“We call Vivaan 'foreign return' because he barely knows anything about India and Indian culture.”
“The screen interests Vivaan but the moment education is paired with a screen, he gets bored.”
"Out of school learning is very important - children should be exposed to and taught non-academic skills that are often not focussed on in schools."
“Soft skills should not be neglected due to academics.”
“He used to pick up nuances and bad Hindi slangs from YouTube videos which is why we stopped them. I want him to pick up Hindi but haven’t come across any good opportunities digitally.”
“Children should be allowed to learn
as per their own capacity, without any pressure.”
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RESEARCH: THE USER/ AUDIENCE
TARGET USER
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Inquisitive, curious
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Imaginative
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Egocentric
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Impatient
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Restless
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Very short attention span
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Need constant engagement
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Don't like stagnancy (want motion)
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Attracted to bright colours
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Quick learners
(Preschoolers)
TARGET AUDIENCE
(Parents/ Guardians
of preschoolers)
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Working parents
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30 - 45 years old
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Tier 1, tier 2 cities
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All genders
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Upper middle class and above
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Technologically sound and advanced
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Modern, open minded
30% feel the lack of Indian culture
PERSONAS, JOURNEY & EMPATHY MAPS
Scroll through carousel to view all
IDEATION: THE PLATFORM
Thoughts, ideas and everything in between
What the platform should cater to/ have:
What potential activities can the above be achieved through:
INSIGHTS & FEATURES
Indian children miss out on learning about their country as most apps emphasize Western culture.
SOLUTION:
Exposing users to India and its rich culture (languages, music, art, and more) through the many activities on the platform.
Children have short attention spans and lose interest quickly.
SOLUTION:
Incorporating short pop-up activities within larger tasks to keep users engaged, with well-planned challenges that gradually increase in difficulty.
Parents struggle to track their child's online activities, leading to increased anxiety about their safety, engagement and learning.
SOLUTION:
Enabling user activity tracking with comprehensive reports and areas of improvement.
Repeating activities without new challenges creates monotony and hinders real learning and growth.
SOLUTION:
Designing progressively challenging levels for each activity based on user progress.
Children are motivated by recognition and rewards, as these foster a sense of achievement and confidence.
SOLUTION:
Rewarding users with animals for accomplishments, which they can care for in their own 'Animal Farm'. This celebrates achievements while fostering essential soft skills like responsibility and empathy.
PROBLEMS
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Most apps are not catered to the Indian audience, they focus on Western culture, as a result of which Indian children lack awareness about their own country.
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Children have short attention spans and lose interest quickly.
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The repetition of activities without new challenges for the user leads to monotony, without promoting real learning and progression.
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Parents find it difficult to track their child's activities online and get anxious about the same.
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Parents struggle to take devices away from their child. It mostly leads to the child gets irritated and cranky.
SOLUTIONS/ FEATURES
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Expose the user to India and its rich culture (languages, music, art etc) through the many activities on the platform.
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Introduce short pop-up activities within the regular, larger activities to retain attention of the user. These are a series of well planned, randomised activities with gradually increasing difficulty levels.
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Introduce increasing difficultly levels for each activity keeping in mind the users' progress.
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Allow user activity tracking with comprehensive reports and areas of improvement.
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A smooth exit process based on the fact that children get influenced by their peers easily. Once the platform time limit is up, a character comes on screen and says bye-bye with a message.
SUPPORTING FEATURES
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Children enjoy being acknowledged and appreciated; this sense of accomplishment is also important for confidence building. The platform provides rewards to the user in the form of animals, which go into their own 'Animal Farm'. The user then has to take care of all their animals. This helps develop their soft skills.
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Introduction of mid-activity questions to improve retention in the user while also breaking monotony.
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Design decisions were based on the target audience: bright colours and moving elements attract children and help keep them engaged.
NAVIGATION FLOW
UI
A rough idea of what the platform could look like
INSIGHT 02:
Repeating activities without new challenges creates monotony and hinders real learning and growth.
SOLUTION:
Designing progressively challenging levels for each activity based on user progress.
INSIGHT:
Children have short attention spans and lose interest quickly.
SOLUTION:
Incorporating short pop-up activities within larger tasks to keep users engaged, with well-planned challenges that gradually increase in difficulty.