Rapid Design Thinking: An ATM for Children

I was given a problem, in this case it was how to design an ATM for children. Here is my process on how I approached this using the phases of Design Thinking.

Empathize

Empathizing is the key to understanding the the needs of your potential users. To have a vicarious understanding of children and their need for an ATM, I first researched the age range that defined a child. In this case, I will be designing an ATM for children ages 6–11 years of age and for parents since I believe they will be relevant users as well.

What is an ATM?

• Functional definition of an ATM: Abbreviation for automated teller machine, an ATM is a machine that allows people to take out money from their bank account by using a special card.
• Metaphoric definition of an ATM: A banking experience for individuals who want to withdraw, deposit cash, or check their account balance.

How and why would a child use an ATM?

• To prepare and teach them how to use a real ATM for when they are older
• For educational purposes such as learning how to count, add and subtract cash
• A money management tool to prepare kids on how to monitor spending and savings
• A piggy-bank to help them store money
• Can be used as a toy their parents hand to them to keep them occupied when they are using an actual ATM
• ATM can dispense candy/treat for when parents want to reward their children when a task has been completed such as homework or chores

What are the possibilities or features a kid may need for using an ATM?

• Key terms found in ATM’s such as deposit, withdraw, PIN, enter, clear, cancel
• Slot for withdraw and deposit
• A keypad where PIN and numbers can be entered/selected
• Simple interface
• Debit card and debit card slot
• Audio
• Biometric security such as facial recognition or finger-scan login

For parents, a feature could be an application that tracks their children’s ATM account activity, access to deposit funds into their child’s ATM, and control over amount of withdrawals their child makes.

Define

As I review my discoveries from the empathy phase, I begin to define. I wanted to develop a deeper understanding of my users and address their needs to come up with a solution. I first approached this by defining my Point of View to figure out How Might We?

I combined these three elements (user, need, and insight) to create an actionable problem statement. I used the following to drive the rest of my design work in this project: Children need an ATM to learn the value of a dollar and how to count cash because they want to educate themselves on finances at a young age.

Ideate

How should it look?

As I think about the size of an ATM, I realize children ages 6–11 vary significantly in height. The average height for 9–11 years olds is 4–4.5 ft. To create a “one size fits all” ATM for children of this age range, a step stool affixed to the base would allow shorter kids to view and access the screen.

Study shows brighter colors appeal to young children as they are easier for them to see and categorize objects. Children tend to be attracted to the bright block colors of the color wheel rather than pastels or muted blends. The ATM should feature bright colors on the screen as well as the ATM itself to attract children to use the product.

The ATM will feature a touch screen displaying large font and eye catching typefaces for children to easily view and select options. Slots with images displaying what to insert into each slot will be included on the ATM itself. Since the screen will be large, the ATM should also feature a shield that protects the users’ account information and prevents others from viewing what is on the screen.

What functionalities should it include?

• Transaction options: withdraw, deposit, check account balance
• Audio to guide the user through their use of the ATM
• Security features for children: finger-scanning and slot for child’s debit card
• Security features for parents: facial recognition so they can access their child’s account and view balance/make deposits (because why would an adult want to carry an extra card in their wallet?).

A sketch of the ATM with images and labels beside each slot

After sketching what the ATM would look like, I sketched out the user flow with the images of each screen.

Sketch of the user flow

As I sketched the user flow, I tried to keep the words used on the screen very simple and easy for any child to understand. Instead of using the terms “withdraw” and “deposit” I instead used “take $ out” and “put $ in”. I included imagery that was instructional and straightforward with icons that clearly communicated functions.

Prototype