The products and apps that are focusing on the kids are in spike and the UX and interaction design with gamification for those apps or games have to be designed by keeping the primary principles.
In this article, I have put SIX simple and pretty straight forward principles, when designing for kids.
1. Simple Interactions
While designing for kids we need to make sure that there are simple interactions like Tap, Clik, and drag.
The kids from the age group of below 9 are most familiar with the physical toys which usually have these functionalities and it’s very easy for them to grasp and follow the same over tablet or phone.
And when it comes to the web I feel click has to be the primary function for the kids below the age of 5.
2. Noticeable Action Targets
Make sure all the action targets are huge and clearly visible like close, back and the submit, play and cancel buttons has to be visible enough for kids to take immediate action without looking for it in deep.
The patience level of kids is low and they jump out if they don’t see the targets quick and easy.
3. Keep it Simple
As said earlier a physical reference to the digital world design can get kids connected easily without any challenge in interaction and encourages them to engage with the product and stick to it.
They have great expectations on seeing a product, they would also expect to see sound being played on touching or tapping an image in some instances.
4. No Complex Interactions
It’s absolutely better to keep it a single hand game with just tap or drag interaction, very simple interactions on touchscreens, especially for toddlers.
The age of 6–9 has the ability to grasp and use a desktop with limited coordination of keyboard and mouse.
5. High Contrast
The kids usually fall for the colors and big visible pictures at the same, the hierarchy of using the colors have to be smart, by giving the targets and call to actions primary color and the rest, secondary color to segregate information easily. Please see Colour Psychology for children, have put 6 colors and their importance.
6. Rewards
Rewards are the best way to keep kids motivated or anyone motivated for that matter. For any task or activity accomplished we can give some rewards or say that 2 more steps to get a reward but should make sure it’s not so easy and yet no so hard to achieve.
Kids should feel great on achieving the reward, associate happens with a little effort in the game or activity.
Conclusion
Designing for kids with the right key interactions, bold and bright colors and good size targets are important and primary. Also, we should have the right amount of gamification with great rewards and recognition with the right information in place.
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