Clienthello ruby
#technology
Hello Ruby is a Finnish technology company that teaches children about code, computers, and computational thinking through a book. It is also a platform that distributes play material & exercises for kids to practice at school and at home.
Hello Ruby has been translated to 22 languages, got 380,000$ in total funding making the book the most funded children’s book on Kickstarter in 2015.
See this project at
BriefCreate a communication strategy to reach kids aged 3-14 online.
project overview
Challenge
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Outcomes
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Articles
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Phase 1 - Observation
Playtesting Session
When dealing with children, gaining insight is challenging as they are not able to follow traditional surveys, questionnaires, & interviews and these methods limit the creativity of a child. Moreover, kids’ attention spans are short, their thoughts are jumbled, and they don’t think very linearly. They are often guarded with their responses or in most cases influenced by their peers, teachers, or parents. I needed to design a research kit that they could take home, fill out on their own, at their own pace and own comfort, then give it back in and have fun while doing it.
Phase 2 - Research through design
The Cultural Probe Kit
I designed a cultural probe kit that familiarizes with children’s interests, understands how they perceive technology & coding, and what type of activities they migrate towards.
Design Research Methods Used
Cultural Probe Kits (Remote ethnographic research)Play Testing Session (Co-Creation)Affinity DiagramCard Sorting
Hello Ruby teaches coding & computational thinking in offline ways through stories and paper cutting to kids aged 4 to 8. What is the most effective communication strategy to reach them?
Exercise 1
Understand who they are, what they are up to, what or who are they playing with and what were their favourite subjects. Not only was it a good icebreaker to start and build on topics they are familiar with, but it was a great way to be with them while not being with them.
The most complicated thing in the world is making a friend.
Exercise 2
What’s inside a computer? To some it is magic, or interconnected lines within a central system, and to others it is very pragmatic. A computer holds your favorite games. This exercise concretizes images and preconceptions that are otherwise hard to verbally explain.
Phase 3 - Play Exercises Online
Get online, play offline
These exercises are uploaded on the PLAY section of the Hello Ruby website. They include printing out instructions, cutting out, drawing in, folding. All these are interactive ways to connect with the brand while learning computational thinking.
Iterations of explorative play
As lessons get more challenging, or as age groups differ, these exercises can be modified to keep children engaged.
A community From Sydney to Fukuoka
Drawing brings children together to form a global gallery of how kids perceive, learn, and play. While this is a great opportunity for children, it is also for teachers teaching hello ruby in classrooms and parents bonding with their kids over computational thinking. Computers & drawing are universal languages!
