Year
2024
PROJECT
EMOKO
Category
Product & SERVICE DESIGN
Product Duration
5 MonthS
(GRADUATION PROJECT)
ABOUT
(01) INTRODUCTION
(A)
SUBJECT
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Emotion Island, a world where little feelings turn into big adventures. Through storytelling, creativity, and play, children explore emotions one zone at a time, learning that every feeling deserves to be understood, expressed, and embraced.
(B)
SUBJECT
Preface
EMOKO is a mindful, non-competitive play kit designed to help children aged 6-8 explore their emotions through imaginative play and gentle storytelling. Rather than focusing on rewards or winning, it encourages children to express and understand feelings through creative mediums such as LEGO bricks, play dough, sketchbooks, and role play.
Level 1 of Emoko, the first prototype of this journey, introduces children to four distinct emotional zones - Fear Forest, Anger Volcano, Sadness Swamp, and Happiness Hills. Each designed to reflect and evoke different emotional experiences. Along the way, children step into symbolic puddles and draw scenario-based emotion cards that place them in relatable, age-appropriate situations.
Through building calming tools, sketching out feelings, molding soft play dough solutions, or simply acting them out, children begin to recognize, name, and navigate emotions in their own unique way. Their final stop is the Mood Garden, a quiet reflection zone where they pause and look back at their emotional journey.
EMOKO is more than a game, it’s a space for feeling, expressing, and growing, brick by brick and feeling by feeling.
(C)
SUBJECT
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
EMOKO is designed to support emotional development in children aged 6–8 through engaging, hands-on experiences that encourage emotional awareness, Empathy, resilience, and healthy self-expression. By making emotional learning approachable and interactive, the project helps children better understand and navigate their feelings while also giving parents and educators a meaningful tool to support emotional well-being in everyday life.
(d)
SUBJECT
Core Objectives
What is the Problem Statement?
Children frequently encounter difficulties in understanding, expressing, and managing their emotions, which can result in challenges related to communication, self-awareness, and the development of healthy relationships. Traditional approaches to teaching emotional intelligence may often seem disengaging or overly abstract for young children, leaving parents in search of effective, enjoyable tools to foster their child’s emotional development.
Who Am I Solving This for?
Primary Audience
Children (Ages 6–8)
Children in their early developmental years learning to understand and express emotions.
Parents
Parents looking for supportive tools that encourage emotional learning and communication.
Secondary Audience
Educators & Counsellors
Teachers, therapists, and counsellors who can use EMOKO as a supplementary
learning resource.
What are the problems identified?
Children often struggle to identify, express, and manage their emotions effectively.
Traditional emotional learning methods can feel unengaging and difficult for children to connect with.
Parents may find it challenging to consistently support emotional development and track progress in meaningful ways.
Existing tools rarely combine emotional learning with interactive, real-life, and enjoyable experiences for children.
ABOUT
(02) UX PROCESS
(A)
SUBJECT
user persona & empathy map
ABOUT
(03) DEVELOPMENT
(a)
SUBJECT
Initial Insight &
Conclusion
Based on my user interviews, one key insight stood out: “Turning passive screen time into educational screen time is not the solution to my problem.” This statement made me question my initial direction of creating a UI/UX gamified platform. Although the idea aimed to make emotional learning engaging for children, I realized that replacing one form of screen time with another, even if educational, didn’t address the deeper need for real-world emotional interaction and presence. Therefore, a gamified UI/UX platform involving screens would not effectively solve the problem I had set out to tackle.
(a)
SUBJECT
Initial Insight &
Conclusion
Conclusion
This insight pushed me to dive deeper into exploring gamified emotional learning platforms that do not rely on screen time. Through further research, I discovered and began developing alternative formats
ABOUT
(04) SECONDARY RESEARCH & gameplay
(a)
SUBJECT
exploring
Gameplay methods
From chatbots to AR worlds, I explored every path. But when it came to teaching empathy, the board game rolled a six. A handful of LEGO bricks and a roll of the dice did what screens couldn’t. Bringing children together to talk, create, and understand emotions through play.
(b)
SUBJECT
PROS & CONS
Every idea had its strengths- AI was interactive, mobile games were engaging, and AR was immersive. But they also came with screens, distractions, and limited face-to-face interaction. the board game won.
(b)
SUBJECT
Board game
ideations
After exploring multiple concepts and mediums, board games and LEGO-based activities stood out as the most engaging and well-received. Their hands-on, playful nature encouraged creativity, collaboration, and emotional expression in a way that felt natural
and fun.
(c)
SUBJECT
Level Overview
(Prototype Focus: Level 1)
EMOKO is designed as a three-level emotional learning journey that grows with a child’s ability to understand and express feelings. Each level introduces new tools, activities, and ways of exploring emotions through play. While all three levels were conceptualized to create a progressive learning experience, this project focuses on the development and prototyping of Level 1, which lays the foundation for emotional expression using LEGO bricks, playdough, sketching, and scenario-based activities.
ABOUT
(05) IDENTITY & character introduction
(a)
SUBJECT
playkit cards ideation
Why the Card Colors Changed
The original pink cards felt too gender-specific and might discourage boys from engaging.
To make EMOKO more inclusive and emotionally intuitive, the colors were updated based on scientifically associated hues for each emotion, making it easier for kids to identify and connect with each zone.
(b)
SUBJECT
shortlisted cards
Fear Forest (Black), Anger Volcano (Orange), Sadness Swamp (Blue),
Happiness Hills (Yellow)
(c)
SUBJECT
CHARACTER INTRODUCTION
A detailed explanation of each level, its activities, components, rules, and gameplay structure can be found in the Rule Book.
ABOUT
(06) Prototype Development
