Placematch! - digital place mat for children during mealtime
Area: Product concept, Interaction & nterface design
Client: Microsoft Research Design Expo 2007
School: Escola Superior de Desenho Industrial
Tutors: Noni Geiger, Elianne Jobim (Esdi) & Andy Cargile (Microsoft)
Partners: Alice Geiger, Bernardo Schorr, Bianca Arcadier
Year: 2007
In 2007 Esdi participated in the Microsoft Research Design Expo. My group
presented the project Placematch!, an educational surface computing concept that preceded the release of tablet computing technologies to larger audiences such as the IPhone and IPad.
Placematch! is an interactive place mat that improves children's focus
and awareness on food during mealtime.
Through a guided interactive meal,
placematch! motivates children to incorporate healthy eating habits.
Placematch! was born when we were trying to find a way to make people
eat better and therefore be healthier with near future technologies. This was the goal of Microsoft
Research Design Expo in 2007. This project was my first time doing with user experience
research. Interaction is to be done in a fun and inviting way, bringing mom and child closer
on mealtime. Animations and games about food are responsible for drawing the kid's
attention to the meal, enhancing awareness on food and eating habits.
The product is to be suitable for every family. For that purpose, our system comprises
a website that allows mom to set placematch! according to her premises,
and to get feedback on her kid's meals
Dealing with children during mealtime was the key to develop a system
that would help parents to guide and teach children how to eat healthy.
By that time, we worked with paper prototyping, since touch screens were not in the market yet.
Nowadays, we could have used a tablet. You can see full presentation below :)
