‘ Appy Families’
Welcome to ‘ Appy Families’ from Glynn! Creative Director of Complete Control Independent digital production company based in Bath that produces interactive content for children We produce content for broadcasters, production companies, publishers and education - as well as publishing our own children’s brand via the App Store We’ve produced interactive content for some of the best loved children’s brands for online and more recently in the App space
App development for children is amazing! With all the amazing technology available on smartphone/tablet devices - the world is our oyster as developers to create AMAZING and MEMORABLE things for children
Technology drives us as developers to help create great things for children But does ‘the technology’ sometimes become the main focus? Technology for Technologies sake. Do the words - “Wouldn’t it be cool if we could do this for our App” often get heard? Do we always think about the target audience’s varying abilities when planning children’s Apps?
Creating an App for Little Fingers requires a lot of thought to cater for all ages and abilities Do we all know the ability differences between 3 and 6 year olds when it comes to Apps? Is the ‘pairs game’ App far too simple for a 4 year old? Is the ‘building a village game’ too advanced for a 6 year old? Can we cleverly create an App to cater for both?
For Parents - BIG Fingers Not to forget the parents when planning an App To understand how a real family use Apps in their busy lives Is setting up the Virtual Reality treasure hunt on their device just waayyy too advanced for most parents? What types of Apps parents download for their children Find out any ‘horror stories’ with Apps
Aim of this research is to help avoid this! But if you do create an App that does this… …don’t worry!!!
Because SADLY There is an App for that :(
Is your baby annoyed, stressed, hungry, sleepy or bored? The Cry Translator will tell you!
Time for a Reality Check! Being ‘in the industry’ it’s nice to stop for 5 minutes and see what real families want from Apps - get that ‘ reali lity ty check ’ and then get back to work! To share e with you some interesting research I recently commissioned for my own studio to help us with our own App development A chance for ‘ all the team ’ to have a good look at the audience we create App content for and understand them better We are going g to watch h a great t clip p of the resear earch h findi dings ngs at the end! d!
‘Appy Families’ Wanted to see what ‘Little Fingers’ (Children 3 -6) and ‘BIG Fingers’ (Parents) like and dislike about Apps. Wanted the research to be different from scripted ‘user testing’ but instead involve real every day life. We will use the research feedback in our next App scoping studio sessions. Hope you can take something back from this talk too. Hope e this resear arch h helps ps you when planning ning your r killer ler App idea!
Time to call in some research! Sherbert can you help us please? Of course - I’m looking forward to this! leave it with us !
We provided a mix of different Apps for the research and families also shared with us the Apps which they use. Caring and Games with TV nurturing Apps brands and App brands Educational Apps Let’s go ! Storybooks
The value of this research .... To help us get the balance of an App right for both Little Fingers and BIG Fingers to enjoy! One Appy Family ! Another Appy Family ! Pardon - I can’t hear you with this helmet on!
Welcome to ‘ Appy Familes ’ from Bay! Associate Director at Sherbert Research One of the few agencies in the UK that are specialists in qualitative research with kids, teens and the adults in their lives. Not mentioning any names but… we work with some of the best in the business; Egmont, Disney, Activision and the BBC!
So, what we set out to do... HAVE A LOOK AT WHAT’S OUT THERE AT THE MOMENT; GOOD AND BAD TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS WANT AND NEED FROM THEIR APPS THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING FOR YOUNG KIDS AND FAMILIES IN THE FUTURE
A bit on how we did it... SHERBERT’S 6 KIDS AGED ONGOING QUAL 3-6YRS AND + TRACKER THEIR PARENTS Flip cam diaries In-home family sessions Clinical psychologist
Just to put you in the picture... THEY CAN’T READ LEARN THROUGH OR WRITE TOUCH AND FEEL CAN IDENTIFY SHORT ATTENTION SHAPES AND SPAN (AND COLOURS TEMPER!) CAN TRACE DON’T MIND AROUND SIMPLE PARENTS HELPING SHAPES CAN TAP AND BUT HATE what are 3 yr SWIPE, DRAGGING SHARING WITH IS HARDER PEERS/SIBLINGS olds like generally?
whereas by 6 most kids... CAPABLE OF CAN READ & STRATEGY AND WRITE (OR CAN LOGICAL NEARLY) THOUGHT FINE MOTOR ABLE TO SKILLS ARE GETTING BETTER CONCENTRATE FOR LONGER CAN DO ALMOST ANYTHING AN INTERESTED IN HOW OTHERS DO ADULT CAN DO ON VS. YOU TOUCHSCREEN DON’T REALLY LIKE PARENTS HELPING THEM
Back to what we found... kids love apps!
But what specifically do they love... Instant, dramatic feedback Minimal opportunity to fail Clear and uncluttered 3s
At the older end, kids at 6 love... Apps that are social Levels and stages Being pushed (a bit) “Starring me” 5+
WHAT THEY ALL LOVE Silly slapstick humour Bright, colours and music Recognisable characters Mix of real and fantasy FUN, FUN, FUN, FUN, FUN, FUN, FUN
WHAT WORKS BEST... Quick start up/gameplay Verbal/no instructions Intuitive objectives All on one screen
Why do kids love apps so much? You don’t have to You don’t have to be navig vigate te complicated able to read d or have websites fanc ncy finger er work ...they take away all the annoyances and frustrations of being a kid
It opens the door... To play... equally with older siblings to play ... games and parents they wouldn't otherwise be able to And to ‘play’... at ‘real life’ that’s out of bounds to little children
But, there are some issues with current apps out there... I don’t want to play that anymore Concentration & perseverance
They’re not as ‘careful’ as adults... Tapping with both hands... Sometimes 2 + kids at one time Not all that accurate either...
Which leads to multiple app-related casualties when kids are playing... X Returning to home screen mid game X Opening other ‘open’ apps mid game Opening adverts/upgrade invitation X Games freezing or not reacting X
What about parents? ON A RATIONAL LEVEL apps serve a very useful purpose A great distraction, to entertain ...or as a bargaining tool
Many parents recognise the benefits... some even see them as a positive ‘toy’ See it as future-proofing their kids Apps also seen as more interactive than many other toys/books/TV watching
At a more emotional level... can provide parents with an easy route to ‘play’... spending time together, teaching, copying, praising, encouraging... all an important part of kids’ development and is rewarding for both kids and parents...is it a new ‘play’ occasion ?
Parents’ criticisms generally didn’t seem too big... Apps that kids can’t play unsupervised (from time to time) negates some of the benefit Being unable to find good quality apps in the store/market
Parents don’t tend to see too many problems Once kids are into an app, parents feel they’re safe!
However...there is an underlying worry lurking at the back of parents’ minds... Apps could replace Kids might stop imaginary interacting with play? others? Could it have a negative impact on their development?
Concerns surrounding apps tend to be felt more strongly by parents of younger kids Reflected in their desire for apps that teach their kids some elements of numeracy/literacy (3-4s also not yet in formal education in the UK)
But everyday life gets in the way...
So, what pleases the whole family? Kids aged 3-6 AND their parents
apps the whole family loved in this research
As in many kids’ toys, the balance between easy & hard is critical... the the Child can Child zon one! e! already do can’t do + Learning and development Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
There’s also something for everyone.. parents 5+ 3
There’s also something for everyone.. • Simple levels • Watch and learn • No instructions • Instant play • Repetitive • Possible to score without being that skilled parents • Short games • Slapstick 5+ • Praise 3
There’s also something for everyone.. • Unlock levels • Simple levels and earn points • Watch and learn • Easier levels if • No instructions they need them • Instant play • Nothing to • Repetitive hinder progress/don’t • Possible to score need parents without being help that skilled parents • Game strategy • Short games which improves • Slapstick their scores 5+ • Compare game • Praise 3 scores
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