2. Research
We explored Target’s toy section to see what was available and what the
people within the space were actually doing. We chose this spot because
we felt it would possess one of the largest toy shopping experiences in
town and was very accessible at the time when we decided to go.
3. The Target toys space is separated into several aisles which are divided by
gender for children older than toddlers. The most prominent aspect of this
space were the colors they used to signify which genders were for which
aisle. Toys that were designed for boys were located in the blue-colored
aisle. Toys that were designed for girls, were in the pink-color aisle.
4. Notice the Yellow section for Toys that are designed for Toddlers. The toys
in this section come in a wide-array of colors and sizes that are less gender
specific.
5. With this mind, some children did not stay within their gender-
coordinated aisles. In this example this girl moved from the girl’s aisle to
the boys aisles and began to play with the toys there.
6. Many of these toys were interactive and possessed buttons that caused
lights and sounds to play from speakers. These buttons were very inviting
and encouraged action through arrows, bright colors, and text that read
“Try Me.”
7. Many of these toys were interactive and possessed buttons that caused
lights and sounds to play from speakers. These buttons were very inviting
and encouraged action through arrows, bright colors, and text that read
“Try Me.”
8. Many of these toys were interactive and possessed buttons that caused
lights and sounds to play from speakers. These buttons were very inviting
and encouraged action through arrows, bright colors, and text that read
“Try Me.”
9. This was the only toy that was multi-cultural and this informed our design.
10. This was an example highlighting the two different easy bake-ovens. Notice
how the pink Easy-Bake Oven has three girls in it.
11. This was an example highlighting the two different easy bake-ovens . The
gray one, located just above the pink one. Notice both the girl and boy in
the picture as opposed to three boys.
12. We found this Nerf gun away from the rest of the Nerf guns and in the girl
toy aisles.
15. Design
Intended User Group:
Our design is intended for Swedish Americans trying to reconnect with
their heritage. These include American children who have a Swedish
parents and these parents want them to know Swedish. Furthermore, it
could also be used by American Swedish children whose American parents
want them to learn English as well as Swedish.
16. The Goals of Our Experience
The goals of the experience that we have created is for the users of this
toy to come away with a greater sense of Swedish and American culture
and appreciate each one. Linking this design to our research, we wanted
to create a gender-neutral toy that did not use colors to identify which
gender society defined for it.
Our design also allows for ludic fun by allowing users to play and
learn with the toy and experience Swedish and English in different and
spontaneous ways.
17. Why Should HCI Care?
HCI should care because this toy represents a novel way for individuals
to learn language and appreciate culture without using a screen-driven
interface. This allows for a more tactile user experience which may assist
in learning. We suspect that by using this toy, it could encourage older
generations of immigrants to share stories of their home county to
younger ones.
18. Design Iterations:
Initially we chose to focus on trying to use the different blocks to sense
which color the user was using. However after several failed attempts to
get a home-made pressure sensor to work, we decided to choose a different
direction and use nationalities and sound in order to create a meaningful
experience.
This then became more realized when we decided to incorporate learning
into the top section of the toy and show different words that children
could learn and associate with one another.
19. This image is showing Emma beginning to construct the first pressure
sensor.
21. Emma painting the “S” on USA and showing the completed Swedish
section. Later on, Emma would add the conductive fabric to allow for
the completing of a circuit when the three blocks touch and are aligned
according to each flag and letters. This would result in the playing of the
music for that specific block set.
23. Nathan programming the Ardunio. Getting both the treble and bass clef
to play at the same time required some fancy code
24.
25. Lessons Learned
What would you have done differently:
Recognize that the pressure sensor wasn’t working earlier, but we still have
to be stubborn. Sometimes we were able to keep at it and it works. This
time this was not the case.
26. What would you have liked to Include:
We would of liked to include pressure sensors in order to detect which
blocks the user was moving and have a light come on when they do so.
A Candy Dispenser would have been a nice reward to add to the design.
27. What would you like to be able to do with Arduino next?
Emma would like to learn the conductive fabric and Lillypads.
Nathan isn’t sure what he would do with the Arduino next.
