Piggy bank
Piggy banks have remained like a static piece of box that sits on one corner of our study table who's sole purpose is to collect coins/money. In this course of project, I have tried to study the other possible functions of this object and make it a 21st century, interactive product for children.
Journey of piggy bank
Piggy banks have been a tradition that most of the children love to follow. Collecting coins, counting them from time-to-time and then maybe spending some for something special. All of us as kids have some day maintained a piggy bank and some of us still do, giving us a nostalgic feeling. Piggy banks have been around since centuries but the functionality of it and what is represents have changed with the context. It used to be a place to save some extra money and now it has become an activity for parents to teach their kids the basics of money management. This gives a sense of independence to children which increases their ability to organise and understand about the financial situations from an early age.
User research
Age 3
He does not understand the concept of money yet, however he knows the concept of 'exchange'. He associates this with card money where he knows that in order to buy something, this 'card' has to be exchanged
Age 5
He just started collecting coins in his new car shaped piggy bank. He understands the concept of money and can also differentiate between the value of notes
Age 10
He has multiple piggy banks where he segregates different kinds of coins. For example ₹1 & ₹2 coins in one and ₹5 & ₹10 in another
Age 11
He has a golden piggy bank and he uses this since he was 3. He saves as many coins as he can and the note money is transferred to his bank account by his parents
Age 14
Piggy bank is not as important. He uses a wallet and spends money with his friends. So saving money in the piggy bank is not that important anymore
Market research
Insights and design brief
It will be a product designed for children between the age group of 5 to 11 because this is the age where kids start understanding the value and concept of money and savings.
The product should full fill the purpose of collecting coins and it should have an opening from where the coins can be removed if the kid wishes to do so.
It should ideally have a segregation/calculation of different coins that have been deposited in it. This has to be taken care of so that there is only one place where kids can save all their money.
It could also have a slot for notes so that it can be easily collected and at the same time easily removed if you want.
It could be connected with an application that could have other important appointments/birthdays/reminders scheduled to remind the kid.
There could be a reward system to keep the kid interested and involved during the journey of collecting money.
It should act as a companion/friend to that kid so it can trust the product and have an emotional value attached to it.
It should be battery operated
Conceptualisation
Electronic components
3.7 Batteries
Colour Sensor
LCD screen to display the amount
Inductive Sensor
Switch
Battery Case
Arduino Mini Pro with USB port
Mock ups and Prototype
Trying out different ways to segregate coins automatically using the difference in the diameter of the coins
Mock up of a roller that helps the note roll inside with the help of an interactive roller that is controlled manually by the children
New set of the 2017 Indian currency notes that has distinguishing colours
Shades of the new Indian currency notes so that the appropriate RGB code can be used to detect colour
A mock up of the electronically compartment with the coin collector box
Including the battery case with the other components to see the most compact layout possible
Mood board
Final Form
Working prototype
Designed by Danisha Mehta