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Project 1

Co-Creation Workshop with End Users For Feature Exploration

@ The LEGO Group
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Project Background

  • Acorn was a play concept developed at LEGO's Creative Play Lab, which merged classic LEGO building with interactive physical play in innovative ways. ​

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  • By the time I joined the project, even though the feature has already been tested a few times, it appears that the same problem persists.

    • Children are unclear about why they are winning or losing.

    • Children often resort to spam attacking.

    • The play does not align well with children's natural inclinations.

    • Children lose interest after a few attempts.

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Therefore, it became apparent that the play did not match their natural inclinations or their understanding. 

Consequently, the study aimed to conduct co-creation sessions with children, allowing them to engage in creative exercises to envision what specific play features might be like and how these features align with their natural play inclinations. The findings provided designers with valuable insights to inform their designs.

Methods

  • After an engaging clapping exercise, children were divided into pairs and introduced to the concept as part of a test on building instructions. This was to familiarize the children with the play concept and to explain what the prototype could and could not do.

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  • Each pair received a co-creation task (instructions) and was paired with a designer for general guidance and note-taking.

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  • To conclude, each group was given a final show-and-tell session where they acted out their creations for the other groups to guess.

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Findings*

  • Kids displayed a preference for step-by-step guidance to navigate the complexities of this interactive play concept.

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  • Kids naturally used the space and the scale of their body movements to interact with the play concept, rather than being limited to tabletop engagement.

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  • Storytelling emerged organically within this play concept, indicating a need for further development to better support and encourage storytelling and imagination through the concept's use.

The findings are summarised at an aggregate level to adhere to confidentiality guidelines.

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Research Impact

Strategic Impact​

  • This particular play feature was pivoted based on insights gained from research.

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Stakeholder Collaboration Impact

  • Engaging firsthand with the end users—children—enabled designers to gain greater empathy and to tap into the children’s mental models regarding their understanding and preferences for play.

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Direct Product Impact

  • Designers were able to quickly relay feedback from the children and incorporate it into the next iteration of the concept.

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My Learnings

  • True to one of LEGO's company mottos, "children are our role models," they have shown us the essence of play. It’s crucial not only to engage them in testing our concepts but also to invite them as active participants in the play development process.

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  • Bringing the team closer to the children is essential. Increased interaction with end users fosters deeper empathy towards them. 'Seeing is believing' holds true; firsthand experiences make the team more inclined to act upon the findings.

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Disclaimer: Please note that the content presented here has been adjusted in accordance with confidentiality protocols.

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