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Microsoft. 

 

The next generation of creative computing.




Anyone can make

The Kano PC was Kano’s biggest project to date, it was the first move away from the Raspberry Pi and into a world of designing our own Microsoft powered PCB’s.

The proposition from Microsoft was to create a challenger for Google’s Chromebook in the education market, that was getting increasingly saturated with soulless machines. As ever with Kano products there are buildable elements and Window’s 10 powers our creative coding software suite.





Knuckle breaking

The PC proved to be hugely successful in the education market in the US, selling over 100k units to education districts and consumers worldwide.

Based on research we conducted, batteries and speakers were the most likely parts to break on laptops, so we designed these to both be easily replaceable. The PC is extremely durable, despite the clear casing looking seemingly fragile. I remember one anecdote, from a head teacher, who tried so hard to break the clear back casing that he ended up breaking his own knuckle.





More than microchips

It was a challenge for our small team to create a concise universe that spanned across hardware and software, as well as unique learning packs for educators.

We created a new desktop experience called ‘How computers work’, where the user can interactively learn basic computing principles, such as what binary is. This is an inspiring introduction before delving into our block-based creative coding suite, Kano World.




Details
Team: Kano
Year: 2019



Roles
Industrial design
Packaging
Illustration