Nex Playground
Building a New OS for Play
At the outset, we started this project by establishing goals to serve as a northstar for our creative process. Frameworks like this help us validate important decisions against these criteria, along the way.
Out of our 3 core principles, perhaps the most ambiguous one, and the one with the most potential for failing was Make a Statement. For some, it’s easy to take this too far, and for others, it’s just as easy to not go far enough. For us, it meant:
Boldness
It shouldn’t shy away from garnering attention, or being loud. It should be colorful.
Uniqueness
It meant that it needed to feel and look different from other similar game or app launchers, and uniquely Nex.
Memorable
It should feel special, lighthearted, and creative. It should remind users that the quirkiness of being human is something worth celebrating. In other words, it should be a Pixar animated film turned into a user interface.
We were heavily influenced by physical experiences, like the board games we’ve grown up playing with our family and friends, to develop an approachable, simple and fun feeling.
We went through many iterations to capture the right tone and personality.
Every aspect of the interface was an opportunity to re-imagine how Playground sees the existing world from a different perspective.
Even simple tasks like selecting from a menu of items, or choosing your wi-fi network were thoughtfully re-considered.
Like fanned-out decks of playful cards, the characters and objects inside of PlayOS’s game cards burst out of their frames, coming to life and itching to be played with.
The gameplay is all about using your body, but even as great as it was for tracking body movement, we knew that the technology wasn’t quite ready for precise user interface input like navigation or entering in Wi-Fi credentials. The included remote was critical for reliable input.
Picking a game to play should be as simple as picking a movie or TV show to watch. Many entertainment systems today include other features that make the interface on their systems more robust—which is useful for their users. Playground users, on the other hand, are a broader demographic with a more limited range of familiarity with tech. And because the gameplay is designed for immediate group fun, it’s imperative for the interface to accommodate this use case, just like a game of cards or hide and seek does.
In addition to our three core design principles, an equally important goal was to match the characteristics of the hardware itself. The result is an interface that feels inviting and approachable—an appropriate companion that acts as the personality behind the physical product.
4.8
Average Customer Rating
62
NPS
1%
Return rate
As of Feb 2024
Interface Design
Interface Design
