Thesis Decomposition

Eliana Alborta, Rhee Ju, David Lee, Patricia Voto

What is the project?

· A collaboration with Children's Museum of Fine Arts

· Addresses the overconsumption of media which leads to little physical activity

· Encourages physical activity (through music)

· Can be played indoors and out doors

· Creativity by creating own songs

· Dealing with childhood obesity and over-consumption of media Jee Hye Yang worked with Children's Museum of Fine Arts to design a project that removes the child from in front of the TV and creates a physical outlet to encourage activity and brain development.

What is the product?

· Musical Pebbles is a toy using feedback based interaction as a way to encourage children to extend their bodies and step on multiple touch pads to create musical compositions. These pads could be used indoors and outdoors and can be configured in all different arrangements to keep the user interested. When stepped on, the disc emits a light and plays a sound from the main unit. The child has the opportunity to create their own songs or to practice one included with the unit or downloaded off the internet.

· It is intended for ages 5 and up.

· It engages users through an interactive touch- feedback

· Single Use/ Group Use?

· Pebbles/ Discs

· Coordination

Researching Methods

· Market research: Piano, Wii, and Dance Revolution, but little comparison or in-depth analysis.

· Background research was limited to primarily to teens, although very thorough.

· User testing children ages 5-8 and excluded all other age groups.

· Researched average foot size to determine the dimensions of the final product.

· Interview a parent in the Children’s Museum of Arts. We found this research method insufficient.

· Online questionnaire could have benefitted the research to get inside information of “Media Junkies.”

· No link back to musical scales or notes (Will not learn musical theory).

· No Online Questionnaire (targeting gamers- when did they start gaming, how often, etc)

How did the research inform the design outcome?

· There was insufficient research done to determine the age group of the target user.

· The interface doesn’t seem to match up with the user. Inconsistency of research between teens and children.

· The Not For Profit doesn’t seem to have impacted the design outcome. The Children’s Museum of Art’s was a great start, but more incorporation of different none profits could have helped shape the design.

· Whether the final product is better than already existing alternative was never stated. Market research doesn’t support her design outcome.

What relationships were forged to support the development of this product?

· The relationship with CMA allowed for user testing and an interview, but there seemed to be limited engagement with the NFP.

· The outdoor use is questionable. How would a child be able to hear the music and does the power source work?

How did these relationships inform the outcome?

· The interface seems to be foreign from other products & toys available to play with at CMA.

· Lack of excitement(not as comparable to existing game players as it should)

· CMA, great company to work with to gain access to children who product is geared towards.(little interaction, only one interview noted)

Describe the design development process. (Was it iterative)?

· Interview NFP & parent of 7 year old

· Research existing products

· Creation of initial Criteria

· Broad Concept Development

· Identify problems: Function, Colors/Sound not transmitting through urethane pebbles/how to charge and store

· User testing Boys & girls 5-6, discovered that they tripped on it since foot caught on the edge, revised form

· booklet showed kids enjoyed jumping on toys, but unless it is a working model with light and music playability and enjoyment can't be discerned

· Ergonomics: measured children foot sizes

How do materials play a role in this project? Did material use contribute to the mission of the project?

· Urethane

· ABS Plastic

· Nontoxic

· Functional use of material

What is the feasibility of this project?

· How does it charge

· Interface should be simplified to make more age appropriate

· Price point too high

· How to take it further...

· Confirm price point

· Find niche market/ market research

· Packaging?

· More compelling concept

· Research weight loss

· Age Groups

· Dance vs. Music

· Multi-group use

· Setting standard instructions

· Mat in form of Music Staff