POPO is a family tech solution that combines an interactive toy with a companion app, helping families with children aged from 8 to 12 years old develop healthy personal device use habits through collaboration, positive reinforcement, and mindful device use.
Team
Clemens Chen
Hridae Walia
Jiho Kim
Jishnu Hari Nari
Tools
Figma
Spline
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Topics
Family Technology
Goal-Oriented Design
Behavioral Change
Timeline
3 months
(UW MHCI+D Project, strict timeline)
Key Achievements
/ 01
Collected real user data under a tight timeframe.
We conducted interviews with 5 families to gather real user data, even though it was challenging to approach real families within a 2-week research timeframe.
/ 02
We developed 4 features including onboarding, an AI chatbot, daily interactions, and family discussions, laying the foundation for a full-featured solution.
/ 03
We used OLED screens, Arduino, potentiometers, and wood with laser cutting to create a well-functioning and interactive physical toy.
My Contribution
User Research
I facilitated 2 interviews and took notes for other 3 interviews to identify real users' pain points.
UX & UI Design
I crafted storyboard, user flows, and low-fi interfaces and designed the chatbot's UI.
User Testing
I moderated users tests for initial low-fi prototype and provided iteration suggestions.
3D Prototyping
I led the POPO toy's 3D prototyping, ensuring its functionality aligned with design principles.
The Problem
As Technology becomes more prevalent, rising technology use time in children is a growing concern for families.
52%
increase in media consumption among children aged 12 and under during the pandemic, which has been sustained.
(Melillo)
71%
of parents with children under 12 are concerned about their child spending too much time on screens.
(Auxier et al.)
56%
of parents report that their children spend more time on digital devices than they would prefer.
(Pew Research Center)
The Solution
Introducing a playful and engaged family tech solution ——
Family Collaboration
POPO engages all family members in goal-setting and decision-making, creating a collaborative and supportive environment.
/10 hrs
4
Family screen time
Today
/10 hrs
9
Family screen time
Today
/10 hrs
14
Family screen time
Today
Positive Reinforcement
The POPO toy only displays positive or neutral expressions, avoiding negative feedback in order to promote long-term behavioral change.
Professional Guidance
The app features an AI chatbot that offers expert advice, guiding families to develop healthy tech use habits.
Customization and Adaptability
Each family member customizes their goals based on current habits, ensuring a personalized approach that fits the family’s unique needs.
Research
We conducted in-depth research to investigate and uncover family dynamics around children's personal device usage.
Secondary Research
Our team conducted desk research across various sources such as research papers, family forums, and parents’ information pages to efficiently navigate the landscape.
From this initial research, I played a key role in narrowing our focus to families with tweens (children aged 8-12 years old) and their tech usage in the home environment.
Why Tweens?
This age range marks the beginning of personal device ownership and increased technology use, representing a critical stage for behavioral change.
Why Home Environment?
The home encompasses a wide range of tech interactions, from formal learning to casual entertainment, making it the ideal setting.
Interview with Families
Since we have only two weeks to conduct user research and derive insights and it's challenging to approach real families to conduct interviews, we only had a chance to interview 5 families. I facilitated 2 interviews, took notes and captured photos in their home environment for the other 3 interviews to help derive key insights. Our research used two primary methods:
Google Home for internet access control
Method 1
Contextual Inquiry
We interviewed parents in their home environment to observe family dynamics and firsthand technology use. This method provided us with valuable insights into how the home environment influences children’s tech habits.
Both parents were interviewed.
Method 2
Dyad Interview
We interviewed both parents together to observe areas of agreement and negotiation on tech-related decisions. This helped us identify common themes and differing opinions that may shape children’s tech behaviors.
SME Interview
We arranged an online interview with Dr. Jason Yip, an expert in child-computer interaction and family technologies. During the session, I took notes and asked targeted questions to deepen our understanding.
This interview validated key findings from our family interviews and provided deeper insights into the motivations driving family behaviors around tech use.
Online Interview with Dr. Yip.
Insights from User Research
Insight 1
Parents often struggle to balance positive and negative screen time experiences without proper guidance.
Insight 2
Children tend to mimic their parents’ screen habits, but parents may lack the expertise to effectively manage screen time.
Insight 3
While parents set screen time limits, children often find creative ways to bypass them.
Insight 4
Simply banning screens may hinder children’s ability to develop self-regulation skills.
Ideation
How might we help families with tweens (8-12 years old) establish balanced and mindful personal device use habits at home?
Design Principles
From our research, we developed 4 design principles that will guide our ideation process, ensuring our solutions align with our research insights.
Foster
Collaboration
Encourage open communication and shared responsibility among family members.
Adapt to Different
Family Needs
Provide flexibility to accommodate diverse needs, routines, and values as children grow and learn.
Positive
Reinforcements
Focus on positive feedback to promote long-term self-regulation and avoid punitive measures.
Safety & Privacy
First
Prioritize personal data protection and ensure a safe digital environment for the entire family.
Competitive Analysis
We analyzed 4 major key players in the family tech market that help children manage their personal device use. Most existing solutions are parent-centric and rely heavily on restrictive measures.
Our research led us to move beyond these ineffective restrictions, focusing instead on collaborative efforts among family members to encourage balance and mindfulness in tech usage.
Balance
Balancing educational and recreational screen time, as well as integrating online and offline activities into daily routines.
Mindfulness
Raising awareness of age-appropriate screen time and encouraging open family communication about technology use.
Down-Selection Process
From a total of 120 ideas, we successfully selected our final concept within 2 weeks. I contributed 30 ideas to the team, and part of my ideas were combined into the final solution.
Prototyping & User Testing
We developed a rapid prototype to test our ideas.
Storyboard
In order to align our team’s vision on the POPO concept and clearly illustrate the product’s impact, I independently developed this storyboard to show the before and after of POPO, with a strong focus on enhancing family communication.
User Flow
Since our final concept POPO has both digital and physical components, we carefully examined when users interact with the digital app and when they engage with the physical toy. For the physical interactions, we separated active and passive engagements to establish a clear foundation for how we nudge users toward specific actions. I’m one of the key contributors to crafting this user flow, alongside another teammate.
Low-fidelity Prototyping
With a two-week timeframe to develop prototypes and complete user testing, we employed rapid prototyping techniques to maximize time for user testing. I contributed by drawing 7 of the 15 total screens for the digital interface. By utilizing available resources, we developed both digital and physical prototypes to facilitate efficient feedback collection.
Digital Interfaces
Paper Wireframes
For the companion app, we crafted paper wireframes to visualize three essential user flows: onboarding, goal setting, and family review time.
Toy Prototype
Physical Toy & Post-it
To simulate the tangible POPO toy, we repurposed an existing toy and adorned it with post-it sticky notes, each representing a different emotional state.
User Testing
We conducted 3 user tests with analog families (students role-playing as families) due to time constraints and ethical considerations with minors. During testing, participants interacted with the prototype and were asked to think aloud, allowing us to observe their navigation and gather feedback to identify pain points and areas for improvement.
Iteration
We refined our design based on participants' feedback.
Finding 1
Participants were unsure how to respond if the toy displayed a sad expression and expressed a desire to completely ignore it.
"If I’ve had a long day and I see the toy is sad, I DO NOT CARE!" - P3
Solution 1
We removed the negative expression from the POPO toy, remaining only positive and neutral feedback.
Finding 2
Parent participants became eager to monitor their children’s daily usage through the app, disregarding the POPO toy’s expression and pointing fingers at their children when screen time almost reached the goal.
"You' almost reach your screen time limits. Stop watching Youtube today!" - P1
Solution 2
We introduced a mechanism in the POPO app to display daily usage only when the device is near the POPO toy. Additionally, the app now shows total family usage instead of individual usage.
Finding 3
Participants felt uneasy and avoided discussing their tech usage when the app displayed that their screen time exceeded their goals during family review time.
"I don't want to talk about it." - P4
Solution 3
We changed the interface to display each family member's screen time usage in relation to the collective family goals, rather than highlighting individual performance against personal targets.
Final Design
We refined our design based on participants' feedback and built an MVP for 4 main interaction moments.
Style Guide
3D Prototyping
Mood board
Our mood board focused on toys that effectively communicate emotions and engage users through visual cues. It helped us identify key features and aesthetics that informed our design process.
Iteration 1
For initial user testing, we used a Jelly Cat egg toy due to time constraints. We added Post-it notes to display expressions, allowing us to quickly gather feedback on the concept of an expressive toy.
Iteration 2
User testing revealed that children tend to throw soft toys around. This led us to design a more stable and kid-friendly toy that could remain in place on furniture, ensuring consistent visibility.
We sought an animal design that was both kid-friendly and color-neutral to fit various home interiors. Considering options like bears and red pandas, we settled on a panda design. Pandas offer a perfect balance of appeal to children and a neutral color scheme.
Physical Prototyping
With the minimum time, we finished a larger version of the POPO head physical prototype using OLED screens, Arduino, potentiometers, and wood with laser cutting.
Reflection
This project taught me how to balance digital and physical design, leverage positive reinforcement, and develop long-term thinking about how products evolve with users.
Success Metrics
We established clear success metrics to evaluate POPO’s effectiveness, considering the POPO app, the POPO toy, and how both work together to support long-term behavioral changes in families.
POPO Toy
Expression Recognition
Assess how accurately family members interpret expressions.
Interaction Frequency
Measure how often family members interact with the toy.
POPO App
Goal Achievement
Track the percentage of families meeting their screen time goals.
Family Discussion Frequency
Monitor how often families use the app for discussions.
Long-term Habits
Behavior Change
Measure changes in tech useage over weeks and months.
User Retention
Track long-term usage of both the app and toy.
Next Step
As we look forward, our focus will be on refining POPO through user testing with real families, enhancing interactivity, and ensuring long-term relevance for families as their tech habits evolve.
01 Validation
To further refine POPO’s design and functionality, we plan to conduct user testing with real families to gather insights and improve the overall user experience and functionality.
02 More Interactive
We aim to enhance POPO’s interactivity and strengthen users' connections with POPO by adding more expressions, sounds, or tactile feedback to deepen family engagement.
03 Long-Term Use Cases
As tweens grow into teenagers, we’ll explore adding features that adapt to their changing needs, support evolving family dynamics, and ensure continued relevance with users.
Key takeaways
Through this project, I learned how to balance digital and physical interactions, the importance of positive reinforcement, and the value of long-term thinking in product design.
Balance Between Digital and Physical Interactions
This project taught me how to effectively combine digital (app) and physical (toy) elements to create a more engaging and impactful user experience.
Power of Positive Reinforcement
I learned that focusing on positive reinforcement, rather than punitive measures, can lead to more effective and long-lasting behavior change.
Importance of Long-Term Thinking
I learned the importance of designing with flexibility and forward-design thinking, ensuring the product can evolve as users’ needs change, especially as children grow older.
Next Project
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See case study
C / C
