Article #1 - Fisher price toys

Motivation
We thought it would be a good idea to write a series of articles where a product or issue is explored and used as a focal point to discuss various aspects of HCI. Doing so, provides an interesting way to investigate good design further in and beyond the scope of the HCI2 module.


Why toys?
Children's toys provide a particularly good proxy for learning about good principles; the audience require simple and obvious interfaces due in part to their short attention span and limited cognitive ability.

In addition, the producers face challenges to provide functionality for several objectives such as being educational, promoting development and all whilst being fun.

The necessity for a balance in simplicity and functionality in such products ensure that we can derive some core design principles without being confused or overshadowed by other elements.

Product: Fisher-Price Musical Finger Paint

(audience: 9+ months)

Essentially the product is a 'pimped out' Etch-a-sketch, boasting more features, enhanced mental stimulation, colourful design and an intuitive (hand paint) user interface.

Surface
Immediately, the eye is drawn to the blue - water like surface, it consumes the majority of the space making it clear this is the point to start.

Even the least tactile of children will find it intuitive to touch it and upon doing so are given immediate feedback in the form of shapes and patterns where their hands have moved. In addition to providing visual stimulation, music is played to satisfy parents whom wish to promote the development of their offspring's brain.

The surface calls upon already established mental models in the child given that it holds many similarities to water -- massively reducing the learning curve.

Main controls
The controls are all large, a distinct colour from the rest of the toy to distinguish them and serve only one function for simplicity, some even share functions and are grouped together to indicate this.

Everything needed is in easy access, the features are well spaced out, obvious in their function and non cluttering.

The green sliding bar is particularly good as it allows the user to erase what they have done and start again - promoting children to explore without fear of making irreversible mistakes, however it isn't possible to simply undo a small mistake; illustrating a trade off between simplicity and functionality.

Secondary features

The secondary features are organised together making it clear they are similar, however the difference in colour and shape indicate some individual difference.

They are out of the way so the main feature isn't intruded upon, but close enough for when the user would like to explore. Furthermore, their usage is reasonably simple, younger children may require guidance but generally would quickly associate their usage with the blue surface, given their proximity.

Core principles we observed
Satisfying many objectives, being fun and all while not bombarding the user with too much information is a difficult task, however the designers have done well with this product.

Key to their sucess was utilising the established mental model of water and compounding this by giving instant feedback when they touch the screen. In addition, by combining several features (sound, instant feedback, colour stimulation) the user is mentally stimulated while simultaneously being reinforced to explore further - employing knowledge of human physiology to satisfy several requirements.

So as an outcome of our investigation, here's some principles to keep in mind:

• Main feature(s) should be sized and positioned for immediate access
• Constantly give feedback to the user so they know the result of their actions
• Provide positive feedback to promote exploration
• Make use of well established mental models
• Move secondary functions out of the way, but keep them accessible
• Cluster similar functions together
• Give each part only one or very few functions for simplicity
  
• If possible, make use of other senses to deliver information without overloading the user
• Allow them to reverse actions easily when mistakes are made so they can explore