INTRODUCTION
I was brought onto MEandMine as their principle product designer to pioneer the future of social-emotional learning for children through STEAM, mental health awareness, and interpersonal development.
CHALLENGE
With my background in entertainment, I was tasked to revamp MEandMine's existing product line and develop a mobile application for their biometric feedback game while scaling the business from its early stages.
social-emotional learning for children.
ROLE
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Product Designer
TIMELINE
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4 Months
SOFTWARE
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Adobe Creative Suite
Figma
CAD
Miro
TEAM
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Daphne (Project Manager)
Qi (Creative Director
Elinor (CEO)
Me
01 PRODUCT SLEEVE
One project I was responsible for was the packaging design of our product sleeve. MEandMine decided to push a more aggressive business strategy during the holidays by marketing their products as seasonal gifts. My duty entailed the design of a seasonal sleeve that went around our product exterior like gift wrap.
A. Enhance the consumer's visual and tactile experience through the unboxing of a presentational sleeve.
B. Establish stronger brand identity by moving away from blank subscription-based boxes to more recognizable flagship products through refined presentation.
C. Serve practical functionality by delineating, outlining, and color-coding the contents of each product line.
02 PROTOTYPING
A major project I was responsible for was the revamp of our teamwork-themed product line previously known as "Coral-laboration." The main challenge entailed deepening gameplay mechanics and increasing replay value while helping children visualize the power behind teamwork.
We did a complete overhaul of the existing product and designed a new system that empowered children through social collaboration. Notable changes included redesigning the game board, introducing multi-layered topography, and adding 3D elements on top of the structure.
03 DIGITAL PRODUCT
Building off of key takeaways from usability tests, there were four major components that went into the redesign of Aha! Teamwork. With the instructional picture book containing a scannable QR, users can
A. Stackable topographical layers that promote multiple, different iterations and free-play.
B. Structural featherweight ship.
C. Expandable contraption that requires 2-4 players to operate together.
D. Playing cards for self-explanatory game direction.
MARKET RESEARCH
Nearly 9/10 parents say kids influence their purchase decisions.
A. 1/2 of all households report children having an influence over purchases specifically for their child, with 1/3 reporting consideration for the entire family.
B. Kids take everything literally and have a hard time thinking abstractly. When marketing, there is a delicate balance storytelling and consideration between what kids want and what parents determine appropriate.
C. Parents unanimously agree that the most important factors to consider are brand identity, product features, and retailers.
Three usability tests were done across a span of 20+ participants including adults and children alike. Each session included users from all educational and socio-economic backgrounds with experiences ranging from frequent consumers of STEAM kits to people who have never interacted with one.
A. Opportunity to fail forward and practice reassuring behavior.
B. Physical product with an interactive, flexible element in the form of bungee, string, or rubber band.
C. Transformable game board with 3D elements built on top.
FINAL TAKEAWAYS
We measured whether the learning objective was clear, participants were able to complete the tasks in one timely game playthrough, and if the design validated our hypothesis on teamwork. Overall, it was successful.
A. An overwhelming 100% of users felt that the redesign of Aha! Teamwork reinforced the concept of working together, especially with the introduction of a contraption that requires every player to partake in moving objects together (huge uptick from 44% in Coral-laboration).
B. 76% of participants felt that the difficulty level of completing each task in was just the right amount of engagement and challenge, with increasing success in following playthroughs.
C. 86% enjoyed the concept of a floating aerial element in the form of a pirate ship (flying treasure pirates) and 81% of end users agreed they would subscribe to purchasing the final product of Aha! Teamwork.
