I’m not a parent myself but with a lot of my friends having their progeny, I am aware of the challenges of raising kids, especially during the pandemic and even in this digital age. Some common problems include kids stuck on their gadgets, not having enough interaction with other kids, etc. Oh, and those that are not in front of their screens are constantly writing or drawing on anything except paper, which more often than not is the walls of their house. What if all of these things can be solved with one device?

Designer: Hyungwoo Lee

This concept for a product called Doodle aims to solve some of these pain points faced by parents when raising young kids. The design and the idea for the device is of course inspired by all the doodles on the wall that young parents have most likely experienced. The device looks like a smart speaker except it is huge and is mounted on the wall. This way, instead of writing and drawing on the wall, they can interact with the fabric surface of the device and enjoy some of the interactive activities included in the concept.

The soft fabric display lets kids have a tactile interaction with the “screen” while they draw, write, touch, and interact with other kids who are also using the same device. There are LED lights under the surface so that it follows the fingers of the kid doodling on the Doodle. There are also times when they can press and squeeze the surface depending on the activity they want to do, like pop the balloons or squeeze to say hello or let their drawings “fly”.

The concept also takes into consideration that kids grow tall fast. It has a height recognition sensor that will adjust depending on the height of the kid that’s using the device. It’s a pretty interesting concept for a device for children and the design is simple enough to blend into your wall. The design will be enhanced by the doodles and artwork that the young ones will create. Having something like this can help take them away from screens for a little while and also interact with other users as well.