The Wiggles

Kids become the star of the show with augmented reality

The vast majority of media is designed for passive audiences. What parents often call “screen time” usually involves a lot of sitting around and zoning out. Weyo believe kids’ entertainment should be active and engaging, and they understand how technology can make that happen. Weyo teamed up with The Wiggles, Australia’s highly energetic children’s music group. To meet the technical challenges of the matter at hand, Weyo partnered with DEPT®.

Creating an alternative to traditional kids programming

‘Fun Time With Faces’ started out as a fairly simple idea: put great educational content on a cutting edge AR platform that brings kids into the world of their favourite show.

Our primary focus was to craft an app that’s not only entertaining but also safe for young kids, taking into account their unique capabilities. We even considered the reach of their little arms when using the app’s camera. Throughout the app development, we eagerly embraced The Wiggles’ design guidelines to inform visual elements.

An immersive experience where kids can explore

The Weyo engine, designed and developed by DEPT®, provides a flexible framework for varied educational content. This gives kids different ways to play within the app. They can step into the shoes of their favourite Wiggles character and explore interactive stories, they can put on a virtual mask and make silly faces, and they can join a singalong with The Wiggles and their friends. The combination of encouraging messages and animations celebrating children’s accomplishments, adds to the overall enjoyment.

Our top priority was the safety and privacy of children. We meticulously adhered to regulations and ensured that parental controls were engaging to empower management of their child’s gameplay. Significant effort went into enabling offline play, catering to various scenarios like travel or areas with limited internet access.

The interface was a deliberate combination of liveliness and intuitiveness, offering a delightful yet simple user experience. Rigorous testing was a crucial step in guaranteeing seamless navigation and accessible gameplay, reducing the need for adult intervention. This was achieved through the use of clear icons, visual cues, minimal text, simple animations, and engaging sound elements.

Behind the scenes, the app is powered by a CMS that allows creatives to easily perform upgrades to ensure the app can continually give kids a reason to come back and play.

A big hit with international recognition

Wiggles fans rejoiced with the release of Fun Time With Faces. Kids were loving it and parents were thankful for an app that makes learning fun. That praise was amplified through some major acknowledgements. Across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and the US, Fun Time with Faces appeared in the Apps We Love category. In Australia and New Zealand, and the app was designated App of the Day, #1 Kids App and #1 Entertainment App. It received recognition at the Licensing International Awards in Australia and New Zealand, and was named the iAward National Winner in the Consumer Market category.