Current behaviours, needs and pain points
I asked grandparents and parents to keep an online diary of every call with the children for three weeks, then interviewed each of them for 45 to 60 minutes, in person or over video. Many families spanned countries, time zones and languages, which surfaced challenges a single-city sample would have missed.
Calls depended on parents, and on children's attention
"Granny, did you remember that you used to tell me a story and I used to sleep in your arms when you were here? Would you do it again when you visit?"A grandson, as his grandmother remembered it, after they moved apart
Calls depended on parents
Children usually joined the parents' calls with grandparents, and most grandparents needed help to start a video call.
Attention ran out fast
Children drifted off after 5 to 15 minutes, and calls that interrupted play went badly. Regular, expected calls worked better.
Grandparents held back
They wanted every detail of children's lives, but didn't want to pester them with questions, so they let the children lead.
"I think you have to be very careful as a grandparent to recognize the boundaries, recognize the limits."A grandmother of two
Small details sparked the best talks
Knowing a child's friends and interests kept conversations going, and children loved the little surprises of their grandparents' lives.
"They think it's very cool that we have snow, and I think it's very cool that they don't."A grandmother of two
Diaries and interviews showed the topics that kept children and grandparents talking. They became G2G's sticker categories, so a child could start a conversation with a single tap.
- Things they learned→School
- Daily activities and interests→Routines · Sport · Fun
- Friends and family→People
- Holidays and traditions→Holiday · Occasions
- Surprises in each other's lives→Weather · Outdoor
- Feelings and affection→Feelings
Five design goals that defined the product
- Shared awareness of each other's everyday lives
- Flexible messages that fit around busy days and short attention spans
- Personal updates that give everyone something to talk about
- Independence for children, with parents still able to see what's shared
- A simple, visual design for every age, language and tech confidence