Gamified app to reduce user’s screen time
Target Audience
Parents who are concerned by children’s smartphone use or are considering purchasing a smartphone for their child
“I don’t want him to be on his phone all the time, but I don’t have time to keep checking” said a busy, working-mum of three
Key feature
Gentle competition to improve everyone’s relationships with their screen!
Objectives
Allow parents to monitor and control their kids’ phone screen time in a fun, collaborative way
Create better relationships between children, their parents and their smart phones
Train children into acquiring good screen habits
Techniques & Methods
1. Interviews and observations
2. Wireframing and prototyping in XD
Created wire frames and user tested, then added friendly assets to aid the behavioural change with a easy flow in the set up and use of the app.
3. Animation Styles
Each phone alert has a different animation style to fit with the message type – eg. bouncy fun “chat to your mates” or the angry “Stop it” message that cracks your screen and turns off your data stream!
4. User Testing
Did user testing with lots of kids and realised quickly that parents could do with an app to control their kids’ smartphone time, but something fun that kids would like. I thought that if children could partner with parents this could be achieved more easily, which is why I created ‘the Nod’ as a shared monitoring device
5. Updates Post Testing
Reiterations and the app now included an option to add more users and compare screen time giving the extra bonus of gentle competition to improve everyone’s relationships with their screen.
Sue Kenny 