Usability Problems and Design Solutions of Lego Duplo, Including Bricks and Instructions

Abstract

LEGO Duplo is an excellent educational product especially for children between 1.5 and 5 years old. However, there are several usability problems which occur when a child is playing with it. Therefore, this study applies graphic design and augmented reality (AR) to solve these problems.Research Process is composed of five steps:1. Analyzing LEGO Duplo and its instructions2. Observing how a child is playing with LEGO Duplo and discovering usability problems3. Developing prototypes for a better design4. Analyzing and improving the prototypes5. Verification of the research resultsUsability problems discovered include blind angles, confused information, wrong direction, incomplete instructions, vague outline, uneven height, loose assembly, and measuring length. Then, design solutions are prototyped as bricks, instructions, and AR animations.Graphic pattern on bricks includes 'arrow, alignment, and minimum height markers'. They deal with problems including wrong direction, uneven height, and loose assembly. In addition to ordinary instructions, more instruction cards are prototyped. They show completely assembled bricks which is difficult to complete for the child. Each card also works as an AR marker that activates an animation. Each animation with 360 degrees of view helps the child to solve the rest of problems as well as to accomplish brick assembly.According to test results, the authors conclude that AR absolutely can solve or reduce most of Duplo's usability problems. However, no acceptable solution to the 'loose assembly' problem is found and, unexpectedly, the markers on bricks has limited effectiveness.



Author Information
Chun-Juei Chou, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
Wei-Chun Huang, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Paper Information
Conference: ACSS2018
Stream: Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences

This paper is part of the ACSS2018 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon