CREEM
Educational games for children, Scotland, UK.
What i did
User Research
User Experience Design
User Interface Design
Usability Testing
highlights
Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling
Educational Games
2D & 3D Design & Illustration
Overview
As a result of the pandemic, many educational activities which were previously carried out in physical classrooms were moved to digital platforms. This presented new opportunities to create engaging educational experiences. I worked with CREEM (Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling) to create digital games for young students.
User Research & Ideation
Rigorous research was undertaken in the initial stages of the project. In the beginning stages of the project I undertook extensive rounds of stakeholder interviews and contextual inquiry studies to better understand the problem and existing processes. The results of these interviews and field studies were organised into categories as part of an affinity diagramming process to inform later design decisions. I also tried to understand the existing processes and the relationships between stakeholders as thoroughly as possible through the creation of diagrams such as a ‘Flow Model’.
The insights gleamed from the discovery phase were translated into sketches and wireframes. The goal of the proposed solution captures the underlying educational message of the existing paper based activities, but conveys them using innovative and engaging digital techniques.
Wireframes & Design System
A possible design option was to split the interaction between two devices; a mobile device and learning kiosk style screen. The design sketches went through multiple iterations before arriving at a solution. Wireframes were created using Balsamiq to start getting feedback from end users. Hi-fi prototypes were created for two educational mathematical activities and two user groups; younger children (9 - 13) and older children (13 - 18).
I created a mood board in the style of a digital whiteboard to inspire our UI and interaction design considerations including colour palette and overall look and feel.
High-Fidelity Prototypes
Hi-fi prototypes were created for two educational mathematical activities and two user groups; younger children (9 - 13) and older children (13 - 18).
The user can choose which activity to set up, see an explanation and try a short demo. The student plays the educational game, which in the case of the 'mark recapture' game involves capturing digital butterflies flying around the screen. The students then perform mathematical calculations and get feedback from their peers and instructors. This activity teaches the students a method of ecological modelling about estimating populations.
User Testing & Lessons Learned
The final solution was highly rated by participants in user feedback sessions, and the client was very satisfied with the work provided.
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