🔒 NDA
This case study has been adapted to honor confidentiality agreements. Certain details have been altered or omitted to protect proprietary information, while accurately reflecting my role and design approach as a Senior UX Designer.
B2C
I collaborated with US teams from client side to work on a a Next gen watch for kids in the age group 4-9 years
Role
Senior UX Designer
Team
Product manager
CX partners, OEM Partners, Developers
Timeline
4 months
Tools
Figma, Jira
Domain
Telecom
Platform
Android watch, Mobile app
The NEEd
Wearable market has grown exponentially over the last few years.As per 202 data, its share was 29% approx.
The client too wanted to capture the growing market with its smartwatch for Kids. They wanted to launch a Next gen watch for kids in the age group 4-9 years.
The watch is fun and safe and allows parents to monitor their kid’s whereabouts through its GPS and geofencing capabilities.
“I want to give my child freedom.
But I also need to keep them safe."”
-parent
opportunity
Verizon wanted to launch a premium generation of Gizmo watches while simultaneously modernizing the existing experience.
The objective was to strengthen Verizon's position in the growing children's wearable market while increasing customer trust, engagement, and retention.
Goals
Improve parent peace of mind
Increase product adoption
Strengthen family trust
Create differentiation from traditional smartwatches
• Support children's gradual independence
challenges
The challenge was designing for:
Children
Ages 4–9
Limited reading ability
Small motor skills
Need for play and discovery
Technical Constraints
Extremely small display
Limited touch targets
OEM hardware limitations
• Cross-platform ecosystem
discovery
Analysing the current experience
We began by auditing the existing watch experience.
1. Fragmented Navigation
Features felt disconnected and difficult to discover.
2. Poor Emotional Engagement
The interface solved functional needs but lacked delight..
3. Adult-Oriented Patterns
Many interactions felt adapted from traditional smartwatch experiences rather than designed specifically for children.
4. Parent Context Gap
Parents received raw information rather than actionable insights.
5. Low Everyday Engagement
Outside of communication and safety moments, the watch offered limited reasons for children to engage regularly, reducing long-term stickiness and retention.
6. One-Size-Fits-All Experience
The experience did not evolve based on a child's age, maturity, routines, or changing family needs, resulting in a static experience over time.
Understanding kid's pyschology
Because the target audience was children aged 6–10, we explored:
Cognitive development patterns
Visual recognition behavior
Attention span limitations
Reward-driven motivation
This directly influenced iconography, navigation, copywriting, and interaction design.
BEHAVIORAL INSIGHTS
- Learn and explore
- Play games and challenges
- Connect with friends
- Express personality
- Visual feedback
- Simple interactions
- Positive reinforcement
- Safe exploration
- Build independence
- Stay organized
- Complete responsibilities
- Earn recognition
- Routine reminders
- Personalized support
- Achievement tracking
- Freedom with boundaries
exploring the market
Market Landscape
To better understand the landscape of children's wearables, we evaluated leading products including Apple Family Setup, Garmin Bounce, Fitbit Ace LTE, TickTalk, and Xplora.
Our goal was to identify how different products balanced three critical needs:
Child Safety
Parent Peace of Mind
• Child Independence
| Evaluation Criteria | Apple Family Setup | Garmin Bounce | Fitbit Ace LTE | TickTalk | Xplora | Opportunity for Gizmo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child Safety | High | High | Medium | High | High | Maintain leadership |
| Parent Visibility | High | High | Medium | High | Medium | Contextual visibility |
| Communication | High | Medium | Medium | High | Medium | Rich family communication |
| Child Engagement | Medium | Low | High | Medium | High | Balanced engagement |
| Personalization | Medium | Low | Medium | Low | Medium | Adaptive experiences |
| Independence Building | Low | Low | Medium | Low | Medium | Core differentiator |
| Family Coordination | Low | Low | Low | Medium | Low | Unified family ecosystem |
| Proactive Guidance | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low | AI-powered assistance |
| Contextual Intelligence | Low | Low | Low | Low | Low | Major whitespace |
| Emotional Connection | Medium | Low | Medium | Low | Medium | Trust-centered design |
Key Insight 💡
Our research revealed that the market had become increasingly focused on parental control and visibility. While these products successfully improved safety, they rarely addressed an equally important challenge:
How might we help children become more independent while still giving parents confidence and peace of mind?
Design Opportunity
Rather than creating another monitoring tool, we identified an opportunity to design for:
Freedom with Safeguards
A model where:
Children feel trusted rather than monitored
Parents feel informed rather than anxious
Technology provides understanding rather than just data
This insight became the foundation for the next-generation Gizmo experience.
Safety Without Anxiety
Provide reassurance without overwhelming parents.
Independence With Guardrails
Allow children to explore while maintaining appropriate protections.
Context Over Data
Transform information into actionable understanding.
Delight Through Simplicity
Create experiences that are intuitive, playful, and age appropriate.
Safety Without Anxiety
Provide reassurance without overwhelming parents.
Independence With Guardrails
Allow children to explore while maintaining appropriate protections.
Context Over Data
Transform information into actionable understanding.
Delight Through Simplicity
Create experiences that are intuitive, playful, and age appropriate.
B2C
I collaborated with US teams from client side to work on a a Next gen watch for kids in the age group 4-9 years
🔒 NDA
This case study has been adapted to honor confidentiality agreements. Certain details have been altered or omitted to protect proprietary information, while accurately reflecting my role and design approach as a Senior UX Designer.
Role
Senior UX Designer
Team
Product manager
CX partners, Developers
Timeline
3 Weeks
Tools
Figma, Jira
Domain
Telecom
Platform
iPad mini
THE NEED
Wearable market has grown exponentially over the last few years.As per 202 data, its share was 29% approx.
The client too wanted to capture the growing market with its smartwatch for Kids. They wanted to launch a Next gen watch for kids in the age group 4-9 years.
The watch is fun and safe and allows parents to monitor their kid’s whereabouts through its GPS and geofencing capabilities.
“I want to give my child freedom.
But I also need to keep them safe."”
-Customer
opportunity
Verizon wanted to launch a premium generation of Gizmo watches while simultaneously modernizing the existing experience.
The objective was to strengthen Verizon's position in the growing children's wearable market while increasing customer trust, engagement, and retention.
Goals
Improve parent peace of mind
Increase product adoption
Strengthen family trust
Create differentiation from traditional smartwatches
Support children's gradual independence
BUSINESS Goals
Reduce churn among high-risk segments by offering personalized, self-service value optimization.
Lower call center costs by reducing support calls about billing confusion.
Improve retention metrics by surfacing upgrade/downgrade options in-product.
Drive upsell opportunities via more visible perk configurations and smart recommendations
User Goals
discovery
Understanding kid's pyschology
Because the target audience was children aged 6–10, we explored:
Cognitive development patterns
Visual recognition behavior
Attention span limitations
Reward-driven motivation
This directly influenced iconography, navigation, copywriting, and interaction design.
exploring the market
Market Landscape
To better understand the landscape of children's wearables, we evaluated leading products including Apple Family Setup, Garmin Bounce, Fitbit Ace LTE, TickTalk, and Xplora.
Our goal was to identify how different products balanced three critical needs:
Child Safety
Parent Peace of Mind
• Child Independence
Key Insight 💡
How might we help children become more independent while still giving parents confidence and peace of mind?
Our research revealed that the market had become increasingly focused on parental control and visibility. While these products successfully improved safety, they rarely addressed an equally important challenge:
Design Opportunity
Rather than creating another monitoring tool, we identified an opportunity to design for:
Freedom with Safeguards
A model where:
Children feel trusted rather than monitored
Parents feel informed rather than anxious
Technology provides understanding rather than just data
This insight became the foundation for the next-generation Gizmo experience.
PRODUCT VISION AREAS
Alongside research, product and business stakeholders identified several strategic investment areas for the next generation Gizmo experience. We used research insights to evaluate how each initiative could create value for both children and parents.
Concept Exploration
Building on the identified vision areas, we explored how existing Gizmo capabilities could evolve to better support children's growing independence while maintaining the trust and reassurance parents expect.
Early wireframes helped us evaluate navigation patterns, information architecture, feature discoverability, and age-appropriate interactions across a variety of scenarios.
Features
Music streaming
Concept Exploration
Building on the identified vision areas, we explored how existing Gizmo capabilities could evolve to better support children's growing independence while maintaining the trust and reassurance parents expect.
Early wireframes helped us evaluate navigation patterns, information architecture, feature discoverability, and age-appropriate interactions across a variety of scenarios.
Design Opportunity
