qubs play experience

Cody Block is a screen-free wooden coding toy designed for children aged four to ten. As the company enters its second generation of products, we collaborated to integrate research-driven insights into the play experience—enhancing communication design and developing blueprints for both current and future products in the growing range. We identified content strategies that engage pre-readers without alienating older children. The resulting design recommendations guide now serves as the foundation for streamlining the out-of-the-box play experience.

Process Notes:

The Qubs team approached me to redesign an instruction booklet that users found difficult to navigate. I broke down the instruction elements and conducted quick sessions with children to observe how they interacted with the product. Based on these insights, I created a new instruction format featuring simplified language, a visual wayfinding system, and a map-style layout instead of a traditional booklet.

I conducted multiple user testing sessions with children of different age groups, as well as parents and siblings. From this, I developed a set of design best practices. The new format also included age-appropriate activities aimed at building confidence in coding, particularly for the more advanced expansion sets.