Fisher Price toy design as a model for software design
Two design tips for software from channeling your inner child
I’ve spent a lot of time designing new features & product ideas and measuring their success (or lack thereof!) after they’re released into the world. The products and features that are consistently the most successful, from both a business & user experience perspective, have two things in common: 1) it is abundantly clear how the end user can interact to have a successful experience, and 2) they are simple and easy to learn how to use.
Personally, I like to use analogies to help with the creative process, and one I continually come back to is thinking about software design as if I were building it for Fisher Price, the ubiquitous children’s toy company.
Fisher Price, founded in 1930, thought the world needed better toys. Their website states they strive to build toys that “appeal to the imagination, that do something new and surprising and funny”. I believe software should strive for the same thing.
1. Clearly define what ‘successful’ usage looks like to the user
Simplicity is the basis of a good website or application interface. The most successful ones drive actions and make it clear what you as a user should do.
Fisher Price toys do a great job of clearly communicating to the user — in their case, a child — how their interactions with the product help make them succeed. They do this through focusing their toy’s interface on 1–2 main actions, using a logical grouping of elements with colors and space, and eliminating clutter.
If you have ever watched a child play with one of these toys, it doesn’t take very long for them to figure out how to use it. The child’s first time experience is one filled with delight as they tinker with it and realize the causal relationship between the buttons, switches and knobs and the outcome they want.
2. Make it easy & fun to learn how to use it
These toys don’t come with explanation guides or tutorial videos; rather, they rely on the child figuring it out on their own simply by using the product. People of all ages learn best through a technique called experiential learning, or the act of learning by doing.
If the toy is too complicated before learning how to use it correctly, the child will give up. Not complicated enough, and they will quickly lose interest. It’s no small task to balance these with keeping the product functional (it must get the job done it was designed to get done).
These toys encourage the user have to have fun while learning to use them. Unexpected sound and lights to reinforce important actions differentiates the toy from other ones in the toy box. I’m definitely not advocating for sounds in your software, but unexpected moments, messages, and interactions will pay dividends in your application, keeping the experience fresh and delighting users.
Comparing toys designed for children with software interaction design is an obvious oversimplification, but nonetheless, important to keep top of mind when thinking about your product or feature. If the user is crystal clear on how to successfully use the product or feature, and has an easy time learning how to do it, you’ve done your job.
