The Product Design Technical Group (PDTG) of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society congratulates Fisher-Price on receiving the 10th User-Centered Product Design Award for its iXL Learning System(TM), a "smart device" for children ages 3 to 7. The award was presented to User-Experience Researcher and Senior Manager of Child Research Kathleen Kremer, Industrial Designer Donald Stucke, Jr., and Lead Producer Brian Mysliwy.
"The iXL Learning System was highly rated by all judges on the panel," said Award Cochair Dianne McMullin. "They felt that the Fisher-Price researchers had done an outstanding job of meeting the challenges of understanding children's behaviors, conducting user testing with children, and designing a user interface to accommodate them. In addition, Fisher-Price was praised for the thoughtfulness of why they did what they did and how they were working in the market."
The iXL Learning System is a 6-in-1 handheld learning system, incorporating a digital book reader, game player, digital art studio, MP3 music player, notepad, and photo viewer. It was a finalist for the Toy Industry Association's Preschool Toy of the Year, Educational Toy of the Year, and Most Innovative Toy of the Year.
"We are excited and honored to be the recipient of the 10th Annual PDTG User-Centered Design Award for the iXL Learning System," said Kremer. "We share with HFES the belief in the importance of working with consumers throughout the entire design and development process to ensure that our products enrich the lives of young children and their families."
This year's winning product was announced on September 20 during the HFES 55th Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to receiving a $1,000 honorarium and a plaque acknowledging the achievement, Kremer made a presentation on the product and its development methodology.
Frank A. Drews and Jonathan Bakdash received an Honorary Mention for MEDClick—Medical Central Line Catheter Care Kit, a medical kit for performing a weekly procedure on a central line (which is used to infuse medication and draw blood).
The User-Centered Product Design Award recognizes outstanding product design and the methods used to specify and achieve the design, and emphasizes innovative and user-centered approaches to human factors/ergonomics and industrial design. PDTG solicited submissions for products, software, or systems purchased for use in the home, in the workplace, or while mobile. They included consumer, commercial, and medical products.
The Call for Nominations for the 2012 award, which has been renamed the Stanley Caplan User-Centered Product Design Award, will be announced early next year on the Product Design Technical Group Web page, http://www.tg.hfes.org/pdtg/.
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society is the world's largest nonprofit individual-member, multidisciplinary scientific association for human factors/ergonomics professionals, with more than 4,600 members globally. HFES members include psychologists and other scientists, designers, and engineers, all of whom have a common interest in designing systems and equipment to be safe and effective for the people who operate and maintain them. Watch science news stories about other HF/E topics at the HFES Web site. "Human Factors and Ergonomics: People-Friendly Design Through Science and Engineering."