NFC CARDS for SAMSUNG
Phones have become over complicated and many users are afraid to break them or get lost in menus – so they don’t explore and learn all the things they can do.
We generated so many insights from our year-long collaboration with Samsung and the Helen Hamlyn Center that we continued to create concepts which try to engage and support users of all ages to learn how to use technology and enjoy it!
We were shocked at the number of people who had spent hundreds of pounds on a smartphone but didn’t know what they could do with it – they were too frightened to explore.
We took advantage of a technology called Near Field Communication, or NFC which allows normal objects to be instantly and wirelessly recognisable by a mobile phone.
We designed a set of cards to represent every function inside the phone. This makes it easy to pick up and explore the capability of the phone with your hands, in a natural and familiar way.
When you tap a card onto the screen, that function is initiated.
For example taking the “Calculator” card and tapping it on the phone will make the calculator appear on the screen.
The aim was to provide a means of teaching people to use and explore their phones, so the back of each card actually explains how to reach that function manually, through the menu. It is usually just a few clicks away.
Cards can be carried in your wallet so they can be accessed and learnt on the move. Many of the people we spoke to were interested in a card to make their phone silent in a hurry – explaining that they normally have to find their glasses before they can begin to access the menus to make their phone silent.
We have a fully working prototype in our studio, if you want to arrange a visit just drop us an email.
For more information please follow the related link below to read about the main research project, Out of the Box.
