Troupe
Together Creating Stories
Troupe is an app-based video service designed for 8-12-year olds. It enables children to build a storyline with different permissions, collectively with their friends based on their control of the content seen.
The video service is controlled by wearable, interactive fabric bands which allow the children to make narrative decisions throughout the software. Additional character items were created for each of the themed storylines, for children to wear and use actively.
A reflective journal allows the children to document their stories and create their own character to be part of them. This was developed to encourage communication between the child and their guardian over viewing content.
The Process
I conducted qualitative research to understand children's exposure to adult content online, through a series of phone interviews, shadowing in homes and a co-creation session with children under 12. The findings were synthesised into STEP (social, technological, ethical and political) cards.
Worksheet suggesting daily report
Worksheet suggesting surveillance
During the co-creation session based on video usage, four eleven-year-old participants completed exercise sheets.
From the analysis of workshop results, I identified six key insight areas;
1) Self-identified peer pressure amongst children.
2) Digital children's video services are not fulfilling their job as a community service provider.
3) Digitally illiterate elders are unable to protect children online.
4) Children do not have the technological skills to interact proficiently online.
5) Self-recognition of overexposure online.
6) Children are wary of younger siblings using the same mediums they do.
1) Self-identified peer pressure amongst children.
2) Digital children's video services are not fulfilling their job as a community service provider.
3) Digitally illiterate elders are unable to protect children online.
4) Children do not have the technological skills to interact proficiently online.
5) Self-recognition of overexposure online.
6) Children are wary of younger siblings using the same mediums they do.
After prioritisation, I defined my focus area as investigating children's self-recognition of overexposure and children's belief that service providers aren't doing enough for them as a community.
The examples above depict more than feature add-ons as many other children suggested, instead, these drawings show 'send a daily report to mum and dad' and a switch to the "adult version." From the co-creation, I determined children want to be monitored on digital devices and there is a desire for increased adult supervision.
The next phase of this project brought exciting challenges with children’s co-design, especially understanding how to deal with different personalities in different contexts.
Personifying brand principals
Personifying brand principals
I organised another co-creation session with two children from the previous workshop, to generate concepts.
Concepts:
This time, I brought a tool kit of methods, with different intentions for each task to prevent the children to energise them and prevent them from getting distracted as they did before. I did this by organising the workshop with two participants together, allowing them to complete the tasks in sync.
From the workshop, these 2 concepts for a children's video service were most exciting:
Concept 1 shows a child content creating videos using a separate physical device and interface apart from their viewing platform. The system asks a series of scenarios and the child chooses through these other devices.
The creator suggests that by having a more active, interactive role in the video creation, they would learn better.
Concept 2 describes a watershed for digital online devices, reflecting on the existing system used by television stations in the I.e. “My way is by TV on YouTube.” This implies a spectrum of age usage.
During the development phase, the two initial concepts moved away from a digital service and towards having more physical touchpoints.
I identified my focus, creating a video service for children which they can build a storyline, with different permissions collectively with their friends based on their control of the content seen. The video service would have multiple touchpoints which are both physical and digital.
During this phase, I facilitated The Global Service Jam with Service Design agency Snook. Here, I hacked my project using some of their design tools, to synthesise large quantities of data.
I facilitated a group co-creation exercise with 5 11-year olds to ideate on how they could be more interactive when using the video service. Detailed storyboards were created to illustrate the users' end to end service journey.
Wearables were identified as a physical touchpoint of interaction between the child and the video software, as this implied more active participation than a traditional controller. I began iterating on interactive fabric bands. Fabric bands would allow the child to make selections on screen without being detected by a camera.
I created a series of illustrations of the characters the child gamers could become in the video service. These were initially tested as paper prototypes, then the illustration was printed onto different fabrics before deciding to digitally print on Neoprene. A series of character tools were created as physical character touchpoints within the service.
Once the interactive bands were digitally printed, I began to prototype the video service interface, to be installed as an app using Adobe Xd.
A reflective journal was created for the child to document their stories, and act as a tool to facilitate greater communication between the child and their elders.
