Tangible message bubbles for children's communication and play

Abstract

We introduce Tangible Message Bubbles, a new composition and communication tool that invites youngsters to express and record their everyday expressions, play with these original recordings, and share these personal creations with their friends and family. We present a design rationale that focuses on supporting both co-located and remote collaboration, and on balancing play with tool design. Results from pilot evaluations with our initial prototypes informed us with ways to leverage the physical properties of the toys and support playful exploration of children's recorded video messages for sharing.