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Full Version: [xbcm4kids] - A skin for kids
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To be continued!
Great idea. I think alot of focus needs to go into navigation of the skin. Needs to be simple, so if they are just clicking around they don't get lost. For example going into movies, I think only one view and few options, kids like to click around and always seem to end up clicking somewhere and bringing up an option window and getting stuck there.
Twistedretard Wrote:Thought i would try giving something to the xbmc community that has given me a perfect mediacenter app.
And browsing these forums i realized that there is not really any skin for kids(might be wrong). So i figured i could try to learn xbmc skinning.

But since i dont have any kids and quite frankly dont even like kids, i have no clue how the design should be.

So to all parents out there: Please give me some requests and feedback.
(Like how the movie menu should look like to be kidfriendly)

This is the mockup so far:
Image

And if you know some nice gimp/photoshop brushes thats cool and kidfriendly, please let me know.

Love the effort! Young kids can't read. Icons for moves, tv shows are better. My 4year old gets around fine in PMIII. I have icons for most things. Good luck and use lots of colors!
Nice, I recommend to use thumbs for your catogories, Pictures say much more than words for kids Wink
jarod71 Wrote:Love the effort! Young kids can't read. Icons for moves, tv shows are better. My 4year old gets around fine in PMIII. I have icons for most things. Good luck and use lots of colors!

Maybe should drop the ugly "playing now" section and use all the space in the middle for some big animations. Like small comic guys dragging a screen with alot of cartoons on it or something.
Nice song choice for a kid's skin Smile

Icons are better than text.

My 4 year old gets around pm3.hd fine... maybe a theme for that would be appropriate, it is definitely the most usable skin.
I really don't think the design matters, it's the simplicity a skin could bring to xbmc that would appeal to kids and help users trust their kids with xbmc. Kiosk modes and lock-downs have already been implemented in some skins.. but a minimal skin with simple direct action and very little text hasn't been done.
As for the mock up, I can appreciate the challenge, but what you have put together is not very appealing... it looks like what a corporate group of ignorant adults and ill sighted designers would put together with the compelling challenge you've come up with...
And what icons do you all use?
Tv-Show characters or a picture of a tv?

Prob gonna keep the text for the older kids and have a setting enabled picture mode also then.
DR. Stranger Wrote:I really don't think the design matters, it's the simplicity a skin could bring to xbmc that would appeal to kids and help users trust their kids with xbmc. Kiosk modes and lock-downs have already been implemented in some skins.. but a minimal skin with simple direct action and very little text hasn't been done.

Completely agree, focus on simple navigation with minimal options/text.
Use funny icons, kids will remeber those the best.

Really text is not needed, older kids who can read now how to use a computer today or cell phone...u know they're verry handy in those things and can/will use adult skins.
DR. Stranger Wrote:I really don't think the design matters, it's the simplicity a skin could bring to xbmc that would appeal to kids and help users trust their kids with xbmc. Kiosk modes and lock-downs have already been implemented in some skins.. but a minimal skin with simple direct action and very little text hasn't been done.
As for the mock up, I can appreciate the challenge, but what you have put together is not very appealing... it looks like what a corporate group of ignorant adults and ill sighted designers would put together with the compelling challenge you've come up with...

Yeah i understand now that this is to cheesy Smile
But i dont want to lose the bright colors that all the other skins doesnt have.

Well ok going to aim for big icons and as simple as possible.
gabbott Wrote:Completely agree, focus on simple navigation with minimal options/text.

To expand on this, my kids can navigate the PM3 skin fine but one area that causes a problem sometimes is the options to the right, they'll go into those and change the sort order and things like that and then it makes it harder finding what they are looking for (in my case there are 400+ items to go through). So that is where I am coming from in simplifying things. Make thumbnails standard and sorting options and things like that hidden/tucked away or just have a standard sorting alphabetically and leave it at that.
I dont have kids either but like the concept and colors...

Navigation-wise, I think something along the lines of Alaska (Home 2) with those big icons would be good..
Thats exactly what i was thinking when i started this project.
Remove all the things that would confuse a child.
The only thing that i feel is needed is homescreen, moviescreen, music and tvshows.
And eliminate all the sorting options and all other settings.
Three icons on the homescreen and only posterview in all the subtrees?

And anything on the OSD? play forward stop? big icons?
Fantastic idea and lovely colour scheme so far.

So far people have mentioned kids around 4 years of age but the skin needs to be something that an 8 year old, or 12 year old can feel comfortable about as well.

Ok so maybe the 12 year old would be more able to use other skins, but there are some immature 12 year olds that are into the jonas brothers, and high school musical (hang the fookers)

That want probaly a cooler skin than which is aimed at a four year old.

So balance of age ranges is vital.

Then you have the next problem, which is colour schemes, pink for girls, blue for boys, so colour schemes e.g having various pages might be an option.

Also if you would be using characters, such as Harry Potter for movies page for example, the kid might grow out of Harry Potter and get into Spiderman for example, so having something that the parent can change, or update a graphic would be excellent.

I have a directory for family movies, god knows why as I have no kids, and have a seperate skin for family movies, but obviously having less options such as settings etc, where the kid can get into things and change stuff around is a good idea.
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