YUVA Studio Blog

iYuva = app of the week

2010-08-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

iYuva has been declared app of the week. Oh joy!!

HOT Potential Marketing Opportunity

2010-07-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Apple sent me an email asking me for some art work for a "potential marketing opportunity". So excited! Hope you like the end product, and hope Apple puts it front and center in the app store soon!!

More decisions coming up...

2010-07-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Fascinating article on the effects of a good KG teacher. Opens up a big debate about the impact of private v/s public school debate, leaving a toddler for 8+ hours in a day-care v/s nanny care v/s stay-at-home mommies.

Presenting iYuva

2010-07-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

In our quest to give more platforms for your kid's creativity, we've launched the YUVA Studio application on the Apple iTunes app store. Now you can access iYuva on your iPhone and let your child enjoy hours of pure exploration.

Using this application is as easy as using Yuva Studio online, and your kid can explore swatches, colors and shapes. What's more, once your child has created his masterpiece, you can send it to your friends, family and loved ones as ecards. Not only that, you can also directly upload to Facebook or even Twitter and invite comments on his drawings! All these amazing sharing options can now also be found on the accompanying website. So what are you waiting for? Let your kid unleash his creativity on iYuva or search on the app store for iYuva.

Do drop me any comments / suggestions that you may have at uma [at] yuvastudio [dot] com. And email me for promo codes.

Cheers,
Uma
YUVA Studio Mobile | www.yuvastudio.com/mobile/
Twitter: @yuvastudio

Kids using mom's iPhone!

2010-07-09T04:07:00.000-07:00

Growing up today has a lot more advantages than before, and as every company tries to capture this growing market, even the mothers are excited about the new product offerings! One recent study found that moms who use iPhones downloaded 94% apps related to games and entertainment!

Quite a revelation really. So the challenge is to create activities in a newer, fun and more techno-savvy way which engages children but at the same time fulfills some more needs rather than just 'killing time'. This challenge is met head on by some of the latest toys in the market which are educational in their nature. Kids are bursting with creativity, and need a platform to express it. When we designed Yuva Studio, we wanted to give children this platform where they could interact with shapes, colors, and patterns in a fun, new way. When we browse through the gallery of the drawings created by the kids on our site, we're amazed at all that they've done with the simple tools that we provided them with!

When we came across the statistic of how 52% of the mothers allow their kids to use and play on their iPhones, we thought it was the right time to come up with a combination of our product on a device which kids can't seem to get enough of! We're soon going to be launching the iYuva app which will enable kids to play, create and share their drawings on the iPhone (and of course the iTouch)! What we think most mothers will love is the fact that they can easily share their kids' creations to their friends, relatives and the world!

Enjoy!

Sneak Peek (and Happy Independence Day)

2010-07-04T04:16:00.000-07:00

YUVA Studio is now KidZui Approved!

2008-10-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

YUVA Studio is proud to announce that it has KidZui's seal of approval. KidZui provides a browser that appeals to kids and only lets them navigate certain pre-approved areas of the web.

Getting to YUVA Studio has never been easier. Just search in games for "YUVA Studio", and add it to your favorites. You will be sent to YUVA Studio's login page, from where you can access your sketchbook. If you are a KidZui parent, and you like YUVA, do spread the word and recommend YUVA Studio.

What's cooking at YUVA Studio? - Part Deux

2008-09-19T16:48:00.001-07:00

Integration with Google:

If you have a Google account, you can simply use it to login on YUVA Studio. No need to fill out sign up forms or remember yet another password. YUVA Studio does not store your password if you have a Google account. If you click "Submit", you will be taken to Google's page to enter your Google password.

In the coming months, we plan to bring you complete integration of your Google calendars so it will be easier than ever to send e-cards of your favorite drawings right from your Google calendar events.

What's cooking at YUVA Studio?

2008-09-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a gimmick, we really mean it. We have now opened up YUVA Studio completely to all users. All features and swatches previously available only to paid, premium members have been opened up. Enjoy!

Take a peek at this demo before you sign up!

To computer or not to computer

2008-09-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

How do we respond to this debate? Simple really – YUVA Studio sees the computer as a medium that is gaining in popularity of use with children. While it doesn’t replace getting your fingers dipped in paint, or modeling plaster or cutting and gluing tinsel, it offers compelling ways of creative expression. Clean-up is also easier though that should hardly be the primary motivator!

Hands-on media is important in developing technique and augmenting motor skills. As a creative medium, computers are better suited to enrich cognitive skills, which are important means of expanding imagination and concentration.

Above all, when children are freed of the challenge of drawing perfect lines or coloring neatly within them, they can experiment with other aspects of their art – composition, color relationships, proportion and the play of positive and negative space, expressing their thoughts. By gradually accessing and experimenting with given shapes, and making a series of choices to unfold ideas, the young learn to evolve a visual language.

Having selected the digital medium, YUVA Studio is committed to taking digital drawing “beyond the paint bucket”. A lot of web-based tools for children are entertainment oriented. Our focus is to promote active thinking and to fuel imagination in children, and to explore the rich possibilities of the digital medium while doing so.

For instance, YUVA Artists can see drawings created by others in Ideabooks and the online Gallery; Artists’ drawings are available as part of the merchandise store as greeting cards and t-shirts; they can participate in contests and have their art displayed in the YUVA gallery – Through YUVA they can share their creations and become part of an online community of YUVA Artists.

First Release

2006-06-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2006

Toronto design studio launches online environment to stimulate creativity

It's Children's Day in China and Hungary, and children everywhere have something new to play, create and share with! Thanks to YUVA Studio ( www.yuvastudio.com ), a Toronto based studio with a mandate to develop products that nurture creativity in young children.

YUVA Studio's Product Design team announced today that YUVA, their premier product is ready and available for purchase. YUVA, the root of all words meaning "young", is an online environment, a creative playground for children aged 4 -10 years.

Shapes are at the core of YUVA. Co-founder Jayashri Deshmukh, refers to them as "the basic alphabet of a person's visual language". YUVA fosters PLAY with a palette of shapes. The rich environment challenges the imagination of young artists as they merge, rotate, enlarge or flip them to create a variety of drawings. "It's like playing with 2-D blocks. In the process of play and experimentation, a child makes a multitude of connections that unfold the principles of pattern, design and composition."

CREATE follows PLAY - it is a more deliberate act, one driven by intention. Using YUVA, children will be able use their original drawings to create e-cards, posters, greeting cards and even custom T-shirts.

A natural step to follow CREATE is SHARE – the act of confidently showing one's creations to others through e-cards, printouts, galleries and the YUVA Studio Merchandise store. YUVA not only makes sharing easy for children but also encourages them to solicit a response. E-card recipients can send messages to the artist. They go directly into the child's "Sketchbook" – much like signing an Artist's guestbook. The YUVA Studio Gallery is a public-facing online venue for these young artists to submit their drawings to. Soon, the Gallery will invite professional artists and designers to curate art shows and competitions.

Although YUVA's primary audience is children who have basic computer skills, the co-founder of YUVA Studio, Parth Upadhye says, "YUVA is actually for everyone, for all ages. There's a child in each of us that delights in creative play. In our product tests we found that while the children were drawing trucks and birds with YUVA, their parents were designing rugs and wallpaper! The possibilities truly are endless!"

At YUVA Studio, we can all be YUVA Artists.

About YUVA Studio:
YUVA Studio (www.yuvastudio.com ) designs and develops products that: foster play (with shapes), stimulate creativity, and encourage sharing. We have a "single" focus - that of creating products that fit this "Play. Create. Share." model of a creative process.

Contact Information:
YUVA Studio | www.yuvastudio.com | Play. Create. Share.