So Easy a Child Could Do It: Designing Mobile Apps for Kids

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by Kathryn Rotondo - Young children can seem to “get” touch devices right away. Still, there are important guidelines to follow when designing for little ones, to maximize their engagement and minimize their frustration. Through a tour of apps currently on the market, we'll explore techniques such as using characters, audio and visual indicators, and inactivity timeouts. We'll also cover which gestures are the most and least intuitive for small fingers, how a child's grip of the device affects UI, and what content to include for parents (and for legal reasons) and how.

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So Easy a Child Could Do It Designing Apps for Little Fingers

Kathryn Rotondo kathrynrotondo.com

@krotondo

Codemotion Milan, Italy Nov. 29, 2014

Kids

Small

Big

Studio Proper Clumsy iPad Case

Gestures

Most Intuitive Gestures

Tap

Draw

Swipe

Drag

Least Intuitive Gestures

Pinch Zoom

Shake

Tilt

Multi- Touch

Flick Fling

Double Tap

Flow

Greetings

“Hello, Super You!”

Superwhy

Look over here!

Bobo Explores Light

Guides

copy me

LEGO DUPLO Zoo

Instructions

stickers

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

Praise & Payouts

“ooh, aah!”

Toca Kitchen

Feedback

home & replay

Toca Doctor

End of Play

Text

pictorial menu

Sprinkle Junior

No Reading

standard symbols

Pudding Monsters HD

Button Icons

sync with audio

Little Red Riding Hood

Highlighting

Zaner Bloser

Peekaboo Trick or Treat

Fonts

Audio

“O-O-O-O-O”

Endless Alphabet

Sound Effects

ambiance

Interactive Alphabet

Background

turn page or wait?

Sid the Science Kid Read & Play

Interruptability

For Grown-Ups

Toca Builders

Baby Gates

randomized

badge = trust

Moms with Apps Know What’s Inside Program

Be Transparent

Resources

Sesame

Design for Kids

Apple Guides

Moms with Apps

The Kids Want Mobile

Dust or Magic

Tech with Kids