If you read the first logs you'd be able to tell that I was trying different, crazier shapes. However, sometimes going back to the basics is just what you need to do. 

Inspired (a little bit) by the Midjourney concepts, I went back to a rectangular shape. It looks great! It has this retro-tv, retro-toy vibe that is also easy to stack, better for storage, etc. Plus, it will be a great analogy for the images that are going to be visible in the "play" area.

Now, since we have this linear shape, I wanted to make it a point for children to have easily distinguishable buttons on the front. I experimented with several possibilities. Ideally, each one would have been a different mechanism, but that would impact cost. So we had to go for one push button, one rotary, and two toggle switches. Here is a little of the design process when trying to determine which functions go where, and with what buttons.

We have the following functions:

• On/Off - Toggle switch
• Volume - Push button, three levels (low, medium, high, then back to low)
• Language selector: Toggle switch (A or B)
• Words or Phrases selector: Rotary switch (A or B)

During the design phase I could not pass the opportunity to have my favorite tester give it a try:

She liked this one too!