It’s amazing to watch a young child play with a touch device, they can seem to “get it” right away. But there are still special considerations to make when designing for young kids, to maximize their engagement and minimize their frustration. We’ll cover how to best connect with children using characters, audio and visual indicators, inactivity timeouts, and more. We’ll also discuss which gestures are the most and least intuitive for small fingers, and how the way children hold tablets affects where to place elements. Finally, we’ll explore what content to include for parents, and how.

1. GGM Tech Day
Berlin, Germany
July 13, 2013
Designing Apps
for Little Fingers
Kathryn Rotondo
kathrynrotondo.com
@krotondo
Saturday, July 13, 13

2. Hello
Saturday, July 13, 13

3. My kid
Saturday, July 13, 13

4. My app
Saturday, July 13, 13

5. Kid + Tablet = ?
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6. Age + Ability
Saturday, July 13, 13

7. Orientation
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8. Hands
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9. Most Intuitive
Gestures
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10. Tap✓Saturday, July 13, 13

11. Draw✓Saturday, July 13, 13

12. Swipe✓Saturday, July 13, 13

13. Drag✓Saturday, July 13, 13

14. Least Intuitive
Gestures
Saturday, July 13, 13

15. Pinch/Zoom✗Saturday, July 13, 13

16. Tilt/Shake✗Saturday, July 13, 13

17. Multi-Touch✗Saturday, July 13, 13

18. Flick/Fling✗Saturday, July 13, 13

19. Double Tap✗Saturday, July 13, 13

20. Flow
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21. Greetings
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22. Guides
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23. Goal
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24. Instructions
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25. Interactive Elements
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26. Timeouts
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27. Wrong Answers
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28. Payouts
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29. Feedback
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30. Menu
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31. Organization & Continuity
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32. End of Play
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33. UI Components
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34. Scrolling
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35. Indicating “More”
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36. Iconography for Buttons
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37. Text
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38. Reading: Not Required!
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39. Highlighting
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40. Fonts
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41. Counters
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42. Audio
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43. Concise
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44. Terminology
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45. Interruptability
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46. Sound Effects
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47. Interactivity Cues
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48. Background Music
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49. For Grown-Ups
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50. For Parents
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51. Baby Gate
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52. Parent Tips
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53. Know What’s Inside
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54. Help
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55. Registration/Login
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56. Questions?
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57. Thanks
Sesame’s Best Practices Guide for
Children’s App Development
Moms with Apps Know What’s
Inside Program
Studio Proper Clumsy iPad Case
Illustrations provided by
GestureWorks®
Saturday, July 13, 13

58. Apps
Superwhy
Bobo Explores Light
Shapes & Puzzles
LEGO® DUPLO® Zoo
Magic Stickers
The Three Little Pigs
Casper Scare School
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox
Toca Kitchen
Spy Mouse HD
Toca Doctor
LEGO App4+
Bad Piggies HD
Pudding Monsters HD
Sprinkle Junior
Little Red Riding Hood
Peekaboo Trick or Treat
Make it Pop
The Monster at the End of this
Book...starring Grover!
Sid the Science Kid Read &
Play
Endless Alphabet
Interactive Alphabet
Toca Builders
Wee You Things
Saturday, July 13, 13