IMPROVING THE CSA IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

COMPANY
Bright Little Labs
ROLE
Project and product manager, UX
In the Children’s Spy Agency unit in KidZania, London, kids have to stop a hacker group from shutting down the power supply to the entire facility.

Agents will go undercover as window cleaners, to find the deactivation key and upgrade Kidzania’s cyber-security to stop the attack and make sure it doesn't happen again.

My Role

The CSA unit opened in KidZania 2 months before me joining Bright Little Labs. As my first project, I was assigned to analyse the performance of the activity, the design of the unit, and propose changes to improve the experience wherever necessary.

Among my main tasks were, setting timelines and deadlines, research, putting forward concepts for changes, source materials and manage communications with KidZania. I worked closely with the visual lead designer to create final designs and then managed and took part in the installation of the new items to be added in the space.

After my initial review, I concluded that the activity already created a fun and engaging experience so my focused shifted to improving the ambience of the space and to slightly tweak the end of the experience to increase online user conversion.

Original unit design

As part of my research I went to KidZania to experience the activity first hand, to get some feedback from kids and to interview a few supervisors to understand from their experience what elements worked and what the common issues were.

EXTERIOR IMPROVEMENTS

The exterior of the unit felt very dark. Details on the glass panels didn't stand out and the general ambience wasn't engaging enough to encourage kids to queue for the next available session. This meant that the sessions weren't always holding the maximum amount of kids possible.

Another missed opportunity was content directed at parents/guardians. Some adults wait for kids to finish standing very close to the CSA unit. Those were key moments to further introduce the Children Spy Agency and its other products to them.
  • Replaced the red 'lasers' with EL wire that didn’t require batteries to reduce the high maintenance.
  • Added colour LED Strips to illuminate the CSA Moto 'Question Everything'.
  • Added spotlights to create better ambience to the outside of the unit.
  • Added UV torches for kids to find hidden messages and make the queueing more engaging until the next session.
  • New vinyls on bench and floor were placed to detract adults from sitting and leave the space free for kids.
  • New signs were added aimed at adults to introduce them in more detail to the CSA and Bright Little Labs' other products. These were placed in the locations where adults normally wait for kids to finish.

Interior improvements

The design of the interior of the unit was missing some more decorative elements that would make the agency feel a bit more real and serious.
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New elements were also added to provide some entertainment for kids inside the unit while they were waiting for their colleagues to return from their mission, a common case raised by the members of staff.
  • Implemented a peg board with storage spaces to help maintain the unit tidy and add extra decorative elements.
  • Installed a bigger TV, as this is the main focal point in the activity.
  • Added beacon lights which activate during the virus attack to emphasise the importance of the moment.
  • Decorative wall vinyl was implemented to improve the general decoration.
  • Installed colour LED strips behind the CIA logo to make it stand out and add some weight to it.
  • A briefcase was provided to store other loose items and help maintain the unit tidy.
  • Installed a magnetic board and created a 'design your own gadget' activity takeaway which kids could complete during waiting times inside the activity or take home with them. This also included CTAs to upload their creation online and to join the agency.
  • Created a Mystery box, to provide another point of interaction for ‘waiting moments’
  • Implemented a UV puzzle around the unit which kids could complete using uv torches while waiting for their colleagues to come back to the unit.

    During the pandemic, this puzzle became part of the main activity as kids weren't allowed to leave the unit to reduce contact.
Thankfully, agents always delete the virus on time, and help KidZania stay safe from the constant attacks.
In the following quarter, the Children's Spy Agency activity went up from the 7th to the 5th most popular activity in all KidZania, competing with big brand units like Lego, Nintendo and Just Dance.

People I worked closely with

Lucy Burns - Lead visual designer
Anna Hyde - COO
Sophie Deen - CEO, author and creative director
Rachel Woods - KidZania, Head of Brands development

Other Work

Designing Spyscape's museum experience
Spyscape museum project image
Designing the CSA
physical product
CSA Physical product project image