Hi! Sam

Three questions for the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
From a UX perspective, the primary challenge of the Hi! Sam project was designing an interactive educational game that addresses the deep-rooted gender stereotypes in children's minds without reinforcing them. The complexity lay in creating content that is both educational and engaging while ensuring that it is suitable for children of various age groups. Additionally, balancing the integration of virtual and physical elements to provide a seamless and immersive experience required innovative design thinking. Ensuring that parents could actively participate and support their children’s learning journey also added a layer of complexity to the UX design.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
During the development of Hi Sam, our mission often seemed daunting. In the early stages, we read numerous pieces of literature and conducted multiple brainstorming sessions to find solutions. Navigating the complexities of creating a solution for a diverse user base was challenging. Yet, within these moments, the lows and my most enlightening 'aha!' moments emerged. Each challenge, whether integrating AI-driven art or refining the toolkit, marked pivotal points in the project's evolution. My notable aha! moment came during user testing when children deeply engaged with the diverse characters and storylines, validating our approach. Overcoming initial difficulties and seeing the positive impact on children made these moments rewarding.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
In the next five years, we plan to address the ongoing challenges in children's gender cognition by conducting further research and analysis. Recognizing the existing pain points in how children understand gender, we aim to refine and expand Hi! Sam to provide more comprehensive support for children in building a healthy gender identity. Our future work will involve deeper collaboration with child psychologists, educators, and researchers to study gender cognition in diverse cultural and social contexts. By continuously updating and enhancing the game based on new findings, we hope to create a more inclusive and effective tool that helps children navigate gender diversity in a healthy and positive way.