Project Information:
Author: Ivana Moreno Santos
Advisors: Letizia Cannerozzi and Nicolò Calegari
Jury: Antonio de Pasquale, Sabina Barcucci and Massimo Botta
Thesis Module SUPSI, MaInD, 2019/20
Tools used:
Vector diagrams: Adobe Illustrator
Image editing: Adobe Photoshop
Prototype: Figma
Book design: Adobe Indesign
Video editing: Adobe Premiere
Abstract
Be.long.ing is a digital ecosystem for families with long-distance parents to connect them with their children. It integrates existing digital devices, physical objects and digital services in its digital platform, creating an experience with multiple touchpoints.
When a child is born a family is formed and that is for the rest of their lives, so let’s make the most of it. For this project is essential to work for the family formed around the children, focusing on their needs connected to their families. The age range of the child chosen was from 6 to 12 years old. Be.long.ing is focused on giving a certain independence for them to connect with their parents.
The goal of this project is to make sure that parents can still achieve their role of parenting even from afar. Be.long.ing, in order to ensure that, creates a safe space for these families to share moments and build memories, strengthening and consolidating their bonds.
Be.long.ing is the only integrated and dynamic digital ecosystem for families with a long-distance parent to experience meaningful moments and build memories through the interaction with existing digital and physical touchpoints.
Over time, forms of communication between people afar from each other changed. At first, there were letters, later telephones, then cellphones, computers and internet.
After the natural development of technology with video calls accessible in smartphones affordable and available for a good amount of people, the communication from distance jumped from voice over the phone to live videos, same as the jump happened between writing letters to voice on a phone call. And now we should take the next step.
As it was already highlighted, there are several ways of interactions between parents and their kids that can be explored on the design process. In order to build a healthy relationship between parents in favor of good raising of a child, the market has presented us with co-parenting solutions.
The emotional bond made between them is build on the daily bases activities, like brushing teeth, taking a bath, telling and reading bed time stories, etc. Attending to important events like school presentations and celebrating birthdays, for instance, shows the child their importance for their parents. Teachings are as well passed on through school activities and in simple games. All this interactions are opportunities to be explored.
Interface and Interaction Modality
Be.long.ing unifies existing solutions and technologies to improve parenting from a physical distance by means of a digital service connected with smart devices and physical objects, providing multisensory touchpoints.
The concept is simple and solid. It consists in improving the existing technology of video calls by combining them to activities. These activities go from games and educational activities to better set ups of devices to improve experience like watching a child’s presentation, watching a movie together and bedtime stories. Parents and children have different interfaces.
The interface is adaptable to the needs of each family, giving the users the freedom to create new activities and customizing the connectivity to each devices, the layout during the calls and as well as other set ups. The parent has access to the personalization for their interface and the child. The child can add activities to favourite to be displayed on the homepage, but concerning the creation of activities they can send a request for the parent about the idea from the new activity.
User Experience
The user experience is enhanced because Be.long.ing takes into consideration the possibility of the distant parent and the child being in different time zones and for that it tries to give the sensation with the weather displayed. This helps each user to compare and understand better the daily time for both. Be.long.ing gives the user suggestions of activities based on the moment of the day for both.
For the child interface this connectivity through weather, temperature and time in the different time zones is graphically showed to help them to have a better understanding of the different situation between them.
Kids' Interface - Homepage Screen
- Video call button centred in the screen
- Simple sections on the left and main activities on the centre
- Home page with suggested activities at first that can be later adjusted to the child's favourite activities.
- Weather and temperature information from both kid and distant parent in the bottom menu
- Simple sections on the left and main activities on the centre
- Home page with suggested activities at first that can be later adjusted to the child's favourite activities.
- Weather and temperature information from both kid and distant parent in the bottom menu
Parents' Interface - Homepage Screen
Dashboard:
- Focused on the child and their environment by having an illustration of the weather and temperature
- Having the sections on the left Menu, with the creation of new section button
- Scheduled activities shown for better time organization
- Activity Suggestions based on the current time for the child (morning, afternoon, evening)
- Focused on the child and their environment by having an illustration of the weather and temperature
- Having the sections on the left Menu, with the creation of new section button
- Scheduled activities shown for better time organization
- Activity Suggestions based on the current time for the child (morning, afternoon, evening)
Parents' Interface - Creation of a Section/Activity
The platform is adaptable and customizable by its users. The existing Sections and Activities are displayed in the beginning of the experience. They can be later edited, deleted or created. The user customize the name, icon and details of layout of the activities (camera and other devices setup and proportion on the screen).
Parents' Interface - Family Space
In the Family Space, the family has access to the family groups and family members, being able to call or initiate a private chat. In the Family Memories Wall, it appears the photos and videos shared with the family members through the chat rooms or with interesting screen shots from Video Call (painting and virtual stickers).
Call + Activity Screen
- Depending on the activity the layout of the page will be different. In the case of Book Reading at least three different layouts can be set (in the activity edition settings):
1. If the user wants to access the digital book, it can appear in a major portion of the screen and the other part divided by the users’ videos
2. If the user wants to see only the book it can have a floating video of the other person
3. If the user has the physical book and only wishes to see the video of the other person
1. If the user wants to access the digital book, it can appear in a major portion of the screen and the other part divided by the users’ videos
2. If the user wants to see only the book it can have a floating video of the other person
3. If the user has the physical book and only wishes to see the video of the other person
Other setups and layout can be added by the parent for each specific activity
- Interactive elements on the book can be available
- The digital book can be add by scanning an existing book or by adding an e-book (connection for with other platforms for purchasing)
- The digital book can be add by scanning an existing book or by adding an e-book (connection for with other platforms for purchasing)
Kids' Interface Homepage
Kids' Interface Activities' Catalog
Kids' Interface Video Call
Kids' Interface Reading a Book
Parent's Interface Selecting Activity
Parent's Interface Selecting Activity
Parent's Interface Reading a Book
Parent's Interface Creating/Editing Activity
Parents' Interface Family Space
Research and Development Context
Placed in the context of families with parents that needs to be away from long periods as well as divorced and separated parents, Be.long.ing proves to be a valuable tool to maintain children connected to their long-distance parents. For further development of the project, I would detail better the Family Space, enhance the feature of weather with feelings in order to close up their understanding of each others situation.
