This project was done for a Design Sprint which happened for a week (from 7th- 11th Dec).
The brief of the project was to create an Operating System for children because, currently kids are using the original operating systems that come with smartphones. We need a better solution for the operating system which makes it appealing, easy, and secure for children to use smartphones
Day 1:
The sprint started on 7th Dec. On the first day, all we had to do was conduct surveys and interview many audiences from the target group and do some general research on why the Operating system was necessary.
User Research- Survey
I did a survey and asked some parents about their views on the use of smartphones by their children. Some of the most common responses that I received were:
1) Control on screen time.
2) Control on the content that they watch.
3) Increase in security.
User Research- Interview
In the process of research, I called up some of the parents to understand their pain points and know the problems that they are facing when dealing with kids using a phone. Here are their responses to the problem.
Research- General Research
Children all over the world use smartphones for various purposes. There is no doubting the benefits of Smartphones. Ease of communication, the anywhere, anytime contact – with friends, family, and in theory at least the efficiency brought to busy lives. Some children are seen talking to their friends for long hours, while others spend their time playing countless games on the phone. The internet is an abode of knowledge for children. But every technological advance that provides such dramatic benefits has consequential costs too. The use of smartphones by children has a fair share of both pros and cons.
Day 2:
The second day was all about creating design ideations. Where I had to come up with some ideas as a solution for the pain points that I discovered by the research. So started doing it by making a mindmap and mood board.
Design Ideation- Mindmap
After the survey and the interview were conducted, I came up with a mindmap wherein I started summarizing all the points that I received. The next slide shows the mindmap where I tried to find solutions for each issue that the parents were facing. At the same time I also added some ideas on how the interface will look, since this is an OS for the kids, I thought of making the interface more colorful which will be appealing for the kids.
Design Ideation- Moodboard
This is where I collected my inspiration for the kind of design that I will be using for designing my Operating System. The mood board has a collection of very colorful and fun icons and screens that will be attractive and captivating for the kids.
Idea- Operating System Name
'KIDDOS'
The name that I choose is called the 'Kiddos' which represents the word 'Kiddo' and the 'OS' in a single word as Kidd'OS'
Idea- Solution
After understanding the pain points of the target group I came up with some ideas that could solve the problems of the target group. Here are those ideas.
1) Increasing the security: I'm thinking about using pop-up messages to indicate every time the camera or the microphone is turned on.
2) Regulated Screen time: By using screen locks after the allowed time of access.
3) Control over the content used by children: By having a login for parents where they can block the sites, games, and other services that shouldn't be viewed or used.
4) Parent login to view their kid's activities: Here the parents could view the status of the different app usage of their kid.
5) User Interface: Make the interface more colorful with simpler and relatable icons with separate animated characters for girls and boys.
Day 3:
On the third day, I had to come up with all the prototypes, sketches, and wireframes. These were later used to create my screens for the Operating system.
Sketches: Rough
This is where I started sketching my ideas on a sheet of paper on how the icons and the layouts of the screens will look. The below slide shows all the sketches that I'll be using in my design.
Prototype- Wireframes
Once I was done with the sketching, I got a fair idea of how the design works. So in this step, I was able to come up with the wireframes which show the flow of the screens in the operating system. The slides below show the prototype in 2 ways.
The wireframe for the child's screens.
The wireframe for the parent's screens.
Prototype- Screens
Here are the initial prototypes of screen for Operating system.
Design Explanation- Icons
Since the target audience of the Operating system was going to be children, I had decided to keep my icons fun, colorful, and simple. So, I decided to go with a flat/long-shadow style which looks very colorful and fun.
Design Explanation- Screens
The images show a brief explanation of every screen, its role in the Operating System.
Day 4:
On the final day of the sprint, we had to submit the final design and documentation with some feedback from the target audience.
Design- Final
Here are the final designs of screens.
Feedback- Target Audience
Once I was done with the final design I sent these solutions to the same set of people that I had interviewed initially to get their feedback. These were some of their responses.
Mockups
Here are some mockups to show how the screens will appear when used in real-time applications.
Here are the mockups to show how the screens will function.
Conclusion
This project was a very challenging one since I had to come up with a design of an Operating System in just 4 days. Initially, I was very confused about how to start, but once I did the research and got to know the issues faced by the target audience I was able to clarify my thoughts and start ideating. The next factory which was difficult to manage was the time. In the beginning, I was very uncertain if I could ever complete it since the time was constrained. But this project taught me how to work under stress and manage the given time efficiently.
