Look at Me
Samsung Electronics
Issue 35 | June 2015
Agency
Cheil, South Korea
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: Jeongkeun Yoo Executive Creative Director: Wain Choi Creative Director: Kevin Pereira Assistant Creative Director: Jax Jung Copy Writer: Songha Lee, Adrian Sim Art Director: Joohee Lee, Seeun Kim Account executive: Jongbin Lee, Andy Sungkyoon Wang, Diane DY Lee Project Manager: Chris Seongwook Kim
Production Team
Production Company: Breakfast Film Director: Sean Yoo Assistant Director: Wooyoung Nam Executive Production Producer: Jed Park Production Producer: Hyukjun Lee Cinematographer: Hanvit Kang 1st Assistant Camera: Chihyoung Lim B Camera Operator: Jaesung Kim Gaffer: Woohyuk Choi Edit/2d Company: Wideeast Editor: Kwangho Choi 2d: Juneseok Son Color Grading: Ockjin Jeon App production company: Design FeverProject Manager: Yeonjoo Jeong Planner: Gaeon Kim UI design: Jaejin Jeong, Jooheon Oh, Jooheon Oh Character Design: Jiyeon Kim Development: Myoungah Chang, Heecheol Jeong, Juhyoen, Kim, ByoungJun, Kwak Photography: Daeho Seo Model Agency: Ready Agency (Korea) / Muse (Hong Kong) Stylist: Songkyung Han (Korea) / Emma (Hong Kong) Producer: Myungmoon Ko (Hong Kong)
Other Credits
Sound Production Company: Limelight Music Composer: Joonsoo Kim Sound Designer: Hojun Ryu
Date
December 2014
Background
Millions of children with autism struggle to make eye contact and communicate with others. They have poor social skills and hence, are unable to develop meaningful relationships.
In South Korea, treatments are expensive and medical resources are limited. The families of these children are ashamed about them and tend to hide their disorder from the public. As a result, many children miss treatment at an early age.
Idea
Studies show that children with autism like to interact with digital devices.
So the world’s first interactive camera app was developed to help them improve social skills.
Using Samsung smart devices, a fun and easy-to-use app was developed to help children with autism interact with people. In collaboration with doctors, professors and app developers, seven missions were created to train the children to make better eye contact and improve their communication skills.
Results
Clinical test results showed that 60% of the children made better eye contact and 40% showed improvement in expressing themselves emotionally.
The free app was first launched in South Korea and Canada, and then globally on 22 December 2014. Within a week, it quickly became one of the most downloaded apps in the “Education” category. It ranked third in the UK, fourth in the US and fifth in Brazil (as of 30 December). The number of downloads and media coverage have been increasing dramatically.
Our Thoughts
The app keeps children motivated and highly concentrated by using the camera function of digital devices that often appeal to children’s interests.It also features a point system, themed missions, various rewards, and visual or sound effects to keep children engaged. Levels can be customised based on the children’s achievements. Each mission in the app requires interaction between parents and their children to encourage positive relationships and connections.
The recommended time to use the Look at Me app is 15-20 minutes each day. The app also gives feedback to parents on their children’s daily performance progress through a systematic parental dashboard.
Look At Me is, in essence, a series of short games that teach autistic kids to look at faces, read facial expressions and understand emotional responses. It's early days, but the small test group seems to have found a positive improvement, which is encouraging for the future