Designing interfaces for kids
“Children see magic because they look for it.” — Christopher Moore, writer
Design for Kids is Based on Their Stage of Physical Development. Designing interfaces and apps for kids is not just a matter of simplification or making the buttons bigger, it requires us to consider interaction models and user experience from the child’s perspective. New research with users aged 3–12 shows that children have gained substantial proficiency in using websites and apps since last studies, though many designs are still not optimized for younger users. Designing for children requires distinct usability approaches, including targeting content narrowly for children of different ages. Children’s cognitive skills are still developing, so their reasoning abilities are weaker than those of adults. To help them successfully use an interface, designs should display clear, specific instructions, leveraging kids’ mental models and prior knowledge.
BRIGHT AND VIVID COLORS
kids generally prefer bold, primary colors and high contrasts in the range of two to three years old. High colors are easy to catch and retain the interest of a child for long periods. Although color choice is a primary influence in the design of every site, it is particularly important when designing a website for children, as colors have a tremendous effect on the young minds of children. A children’s website could accept color option and variations that could be ignored or laughed at in the design of a traditional website. So, when designing a site aimed at kids, use bright, vivid colors that will visually stimulate in an unforgettable way.
A HAPPY MOOD
Kids will remember and return to a website if their experience is a happy one. Elements can be incorporated into the design to ensure that a cheerful, positive mood is presented.
ANIMATED CHARACTERS
Large, animated, speaking characters are a fascinating and captivating way to grab and hold a child’s attention. Many sites designed for children use this element effectively. Famous cartoon characters can get the attention from kids and because of those cartoon characters children are more familiar with the web sites.
ELEMENTS FROM NATURE
Kids are excited by elements they may interact with. Since children’s life experiences are minimal, some things they know best are contained in nature. Most of the websites are used for natural elements such as trees, water, snow and animals. In certain instances, the scale or simplicity of the design overemphasizes these components.
MORE IMAGES, LESS TEXT
While most of the content and interactive elements in applications for children employ graphic components and vibrant color combinations rather than text, the way in which application’s combine these elements can lead to a great user experience or be a cause of frustration and confusion.
NAVIGATE THE KIDS
In any website design, navigation and call-to-action areas should be focal points. Text-based navigation on children’s websites would not be as effective as large buttons and graphics, because they would lack visual focus on a page.
Children’s interests, expectations, and goals change rapidly and have to understand those in order to design a good website or interface. The most important aspects of design is to ensure that you deliver optimal content and a memorable user experience to young users. for that we can use above mentioned tips.
information by
Designing websites for kids: trends and best practices by Louis Lazaris and designing web interfaces for kids by Trine Falbe.
