Bowl: token-based media for children

‘Bowl’ is a simple token-based media player designed as a self-contained interface for children between 2–4. The project focuses on the use of tangible interfaces for handling media in relevant physical and social contexts – in this case the home environment. An initial investigation of containers leads to the consideration of bowls as interfaces for viewing, sharing and presenting media. Subsequent investigation of everyday objects leads to the use of toys and a range of familiar items as tokens with relationships to media. The resulting prototype and extensive user-testing shows strong relationships between playful activities and media consumption. The project extends a rich history of previous work in token-based interfaces by implementing a long-term, iterative design and testing process in contextually relevant situations.