While the world is overflowing with numerous forms of entertainment such as games and videos, did you know that a certain correspondence teaching material dealing with STEAM education has captivated many children? This time, we talked with Kenta Nakajima and Daisuke Watanabe of Wonderfy Inc., about their educational product Wonder Box and its design and values.

Wonderfy Inc. Kenta Nakajima / Designer　

After working at a web production company, he joined a startup targeting childcare as a designer to pursue getting involved with children and was blessed with the opportunity to interact with children. At the end of 2017, he joined Wonderfy Inc. because he wanted to design something related to children’s learning and growth.

Wonderfy Inc. Daisuke Watanabe / Designer

The manager of the design team at Wonderfy. After graduating from the general design department of Kuwasawa Design School, he joined Wonderfy in 2019 after working on web, application, and service development at a web production company.

STEAM teaching materials that are refined by children’s live reactions

── First, please tell us about the Wonder Box.

Nakajima: Wonder Box is a correspondence teaching material for children that combines digital and analog mediums. It is in line with STEAM education (an educational policy that focuses on the five areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics). Every month, we deliver various content that brings out intellectual excitement in kids through our app and kits.

The advantage of combining digital mediums is that we can incorporate content that is difficult to achieve with analog mediums, such as physics experiments on the themes of wind, light, and gravity on the app. We are also making use of digital technology to create expressions that even children who find it difficult to learn on their own can enjoy, such as having characters support them on the app.

As for the content, one of the features is that it includes things that nurture sensibility as a STEAM teaching material. For example, in the art teaching material, we have prepared content for creating collage works using various famous paintings, and by replacing them with the idea of “parts of what the children themselves want to make”, giving an opportunity to thoroughly focus on famous paintings that they do not have the opportunity to touch.

Pursuing design to acquire children’s perspectives and create enjoyable content

── Is there a distinctive process in developing Wonder Box?

Nakajima: The most distinctive feature is the research class. We invite children to our office every other week and have them try the contents of Wonder Box. Whether they enjoy themselves, concentrate silently, run into problems, or are not able to proceed as expected, we can get important feedback from these children’s live reactions.

Watanabe: There are many members in the company who have a lot of “children’s perspectives,” and it is also reassuring to receive feedback from them from time to time.

── What are “children’s perspectives”?

Nakajima: In our company, we use the term “rich in children’s perspective” to refer to the ability to imagine how children would react to a certain extent even without actually trying it on children. For example, “There are too many elements in the current design, and children may not know where to look.”

── How do you acquire “children’s perspectives”?

Nakajima: It is best to participate in research classes as much as possible and see how the children are actually interacting with the material. I myself feel that this has deepened my understanding of what it means to be a child. However, each child is completely different. Some children are able to study hard on their own, while others are afraid even to touch the materials without the support of an adult. In order to think about what we can do so that even such a child can play by himself, it is essential to think about not only the total amount of time spent interacting with children but also whether or not we can notice the strengths of each child. We are working on such things consciously in research classes.

── Is there anything you pay attention to when designing?

Watanabe: We try to be careful with decorations. For example, if a textbook has decorations, a child may feel like scribbling on it. Children have a narrow range of focus, so if there are unnecessary decorations, they will get distracted and deviate from the original enjoyment of the content.

There are various theories in design, such as “it is better to decorate like this” or “this color looks better”, but they are not absolute. I always try to think from the perspective of whether the design is for children to enjoy the content itself.

Nakajima: We can make it look fun with design, but what we really want children to experience is not how fun it looks, but the fun of the content itself, and the fun of solving problems. They need designs that allow them to focus on the content, not just “doing it because it looks fun.”

At first, I was scared to make it simple, but through research class, I realized that they would concentrate on a problem if it was interesting. 

It’s not just focusing on keeping it simple, but as I pursued designs that would make it easier for children to concentrate, my designs became simpler as a result.

Watanabe: On the other hand, there is also a problem that “if children do not show interest at first sight, they will not pick up the materials and only play with them.” We recently launched a project in the company to think about designs that children would want to pick up. A few designers bring in different children’s products every week and analyze what is good about them. The “run-up period” until you get to the real enjoyment of the content, such as the touchpoints before they are picked up and the tutorials after launching them, require a different kind of design power than the content itself.

Nakajima: For example, Wonder Box has never used a design that impresses and draws in children like a picture book. However, such a design may be able to demonstrate its power during the run-up period. In order to get children to think that something “looks interesting,” is it better to use a photo or a character? or is it better to show the final product? Right now, we are looking into how to draw children’s interest using our design. 

Don’t over-praise correct answers, make them giggle even if they get it wrong

── As a product for children, is there anything that you bear in mind?

Nakajima: Firstly, we try to think about whether it is a problem that requires an incorrect answer in the first place. There is the fun of trial and error when there are no wrong answers, but there is also the aspect that it is precise because there are wrong answers that we can create the experience of the children being able to confidently try out the answers they have come up with on their own. If there are no wrong answers, there is a possibility that children may not work on it seriously, but some children are afraid to get a wrong answer; so we consider which is better for each problem, and then think about the expression.

The expression of correct and incorrect answers will be considered as a set, but we discussed several times whether we should use signs such as flower circles and crosses, whether we should express with colors such as green and red, and whether we should express with facial expressions. In the end, we settled on expressing with facial expressions, but even when we displayed a sad face for about a second when the answer was incorrect, some children disliked it, so we changed it to a funny face. In addition, there are children who are afraid of expressions such as “standing on needles” that would be painful to experience and “ghosts”, so we have to be careful. Children’s motivation is greatly influenced by the expression when they answer incorrectly, so we pay particular attention to this part.

Watanabe: In order to follow the stance of the research class that “it’s not scary to make a mistake” even if the answer is incorrect on the app, we strive for a “design that does not make you feel sorry for making a mistake.” Rather, it is because we want children to think in a positive manner when they make a mistake, thinking, “How can I do better?”

It’s okay to make mistakes because tackling problems in the first place is wonderful. We are conscious of expressions that will make them giggle and want to try again even if they make mistakes.

Nakajima: When we actually experimented on our research project, we realized that children are quite concerned about the reaction that they receive. For example, regarding the flower circle that they receive when they answer correctly, they say, “I want a bigger and more beautiful flower circle!” However, the expression of correct and incorrect answers is only a link between problems, and the important thing is to concentrate on the content itself and enjoy it. In order not to scare children with incorrect expressions, but also to prevent them from getting distracted by the expression for the correct answer and losing concentration, rather than giving them something or excessive praise, we strive to make them feel that “being able to tackle new problems” is a reward.

For example, by starting with a simple problem and giving them the feeling of “an easy victory,” if they answer correctly, receiving items when they solve the problem, or gradually unlocking stages with a higher degree of freedom, we are creating a state where “as they worked on solving problems, they found themselves concentrating before they knew it.” We also set limits on how long they can play in a day and the number of questions they can answer. This way they would want to try again the next day.

── I see how you handle correct and incorrect answers that affect children’s motivation. Is there a trick that you use with regard to actual problem-solving as well?

Nakajima: Characters that appear in each teaching material are given the role of supporting children in solving problems.

In the physics experiment content, the children are set to be professors, and the character “Techron” appears as their assistant. Techron relies on children to solve problems, aiming for children to step up and solve the problems as a professor. 

Even in the workbook that trains the ability to think, there is a character called “Hatenyan” who appears in some parts and is a little unreliable, so the children will challenge the problems, saying, “Well, I’ll solve it for you!” The “relying character” functions as a device that draws out the children’s desire to “do their best.”

Designing for children leads to creating the future

── It seems that the two of you have been involved in Wonder Box from the beginning. What made you want to work on a product for children?

Nakajima: Even before I got involved in the design, I always thought children were great, and even thought about becoming a nursery teacher. Ever since I learned about the fun of design, I’ve been looking for designs where I can interact with children. So when I discovered Wonderfy, I felt, “This is the only place for me to do that!” I still feel that way.

Watanabe: I was involved in web and app design at a production company, but when I turned 40, I started thinking, “How should I spend the rest of my life as a designer?” I thought it was nice how the Wonder Box target children, it could approach the future with design. It’s been a while since I joined the company, but I feel that our mission of “bringing out the innate intellectual excitement that children all over the world have” is consistent and unwavering.

──After working on this Wonder Box for several years, how do you feel about the role and possibilities of design in the educational field?

Nakajima: I think that what designers should do in the field of education is not to entertain children with design, but to create designs that make them realize the joy of solving problems and learning itself. Whether or not children can find the challenge of difficult things interesting and fun while playing with what we have created. That is what I find rewarding about my work.

I think the most successful thing is when children go out into the world after Wonder Box, they become interested in things that they weren’t interested in before. We create various “seeds” of curiosity, so I want them to find even one thing that they like and nurture it. Rather than “learning things that will be necessary for the future,” I would like to create opportunities for children who will create the future to encounter things that interest them.

Watanabe: Children become interested in various things through Wonder Box, which will lead to the future. In other words, we always keep in mind that we are involved in creating the future through design and content creation. Art is also part of STEAM education, so it would be wonderful if Wonder Box could lead to a child aspiring to become a designer.

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Wonderfy Inc.