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UX AND UI DESIGN | BUDDY
Collaborators: Nicola de Abreu and Theresa Matthews
BRIEF
The aim of the project is to design a digital, game-based intervention that harnesses the powerful act of playing as a means to encourage meaningful connection, which is premised on a particular prompt. The digital intervention must be designed for children between the ages of 6 and 8 and must encourage connection as a result of playing the game. The underpinning ethos of this project is the view that Communication or Information Design can facilitate positive social change in a local context, specifically with regard to civic responsibility and, by extension, children’s development through play and experiential learning.
You will work in groups of 3 to conduct research, design, prototype, and test your digital intervention or game. The digital intervention, ultimately to take the form of an app, must consist of one key storyline that can unfold into smaller, appropriate, and linked activities that strengthen the message. In other words, one main activity in the gameplay is sufficient, with off-shoots linking the message to applications in the setting of your selected target audience, to encourage connection and deeper learning. The intention is that these digital interventions should serve as a prototype that may have the potential to be further developed and produced.
DESIGN STRATEGY
We were given the prompt of well-being and chose nature to be the core of what helps foster children’s physical and mental well-being. Buddy is a gardening app for children aged 5-7 which acts as a tool in order to encourage children to spend more time outdoors.
The narrative of Bumble the Bee guides children through the app, Bumble teaches his users how to grow and care for their garden while inspiring children to care for themselves. After growing a vegetable, recipes, and stories are unlocked which encourages connection between a child and their guardian. As users complete tasks and activities, puzzle pieces are won and put into their puzzle collections. Fun facts, craft activities, and well-being prompts allow users to learn and grow without being completely stuck behind the screen.
The use of mixed media creates visuals that the children can easily recognise from real-life. Visual elements are created from different objects and illustrations to reflect how the child builds and creates their garden. The wide colour selection allows aspects of nature to be implented in the digital app. The use of colour is used in the short story to help illustrate the overall emotions of each scene.
