Style Lab: Jewelry Design

Common Sense Media says

Jewelry sim stimulates creativity with thousands of designs.

Age(i)

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
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17

Quality(i)

 

Learning(i)

(i)
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Style Lab: Jewelry Design gallery

What parents need to know

Positive messages

Stresses the fact that professional work is worth paying for. For example, customers remark that they can't just pay the "at cost" price (for materials), but should pay for quality workmanship and creativity as well.

Positive role models

The player is encouraged in story mode by a variety of supportive friends and customers. Customers offer various sweet and thoughtful reasons for wanting to buy jewelry for friends and loved ones.

Ease of play

The drag-and-drop interface for looping beads onto chains is very straightforward.

Violence & scariness
Not applicable
Language
Not applicable
Consumerism

No brands are mentioned. Players can order (and pay for) real jewelry based on their own designs.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that kids with an artistic flair or a love of crafts should find this game to their liking. There is no objectionable content. If the game is being played on a Nintendo DSi, players can take pictures of themselves sporting the necklace and earrings that they've designed. Players can purchase actual jewelry based on their designs, which are of a high quality. But this is an extra expense. Ubisoft has provided a Website where players can upload their jewelry designs using the DS's WiFi connection, but it didn't seem to be live at the time of our review.

What kids can learn

Subjects

Math

  • patterns
  • shapes

Arts

  • playing

Hobbies

  • fashion

Skills

Creativity

  • imagination
  • making new creations

Self-Direction

  • work to achieve goals

Tech Skills

  • digital creation

Engagement, Approach, Support

Engagement

For a game that emphasizes design and aesthetics, Jewelry Design's graphics could be more polished. However, the game is a fun creative outlet for artistically-minded kids with hundreds of different beads to unlock.

Learning Approach

Kids can easily transfer in-game skills into the real world and start creating wearable jewelry. Players could even use the game to experiment with aesthetically-pleasing designs without having to buy real beads in advance.

Support

In story mode, players receive feedback on how closely their design matches the customer's original request. Players can submit their designs to a website and purchase physical versions of the jewelry they've created in-game.

What kids can learn

Subjects

Math

  • patterns
  • shapes

Arts

  • playing

Hobbies

  • fashion

Skills

Creativity

  • imagination
  • making new creations

Self-Direction

  • work to achieve goals

Tech Skills

  • digital creation

Kids can learn about fashion and following directions as they create jewelry to customer specifications by selecting appropriate styles, themes, and colors. There's also an opportunity for kids to let their imaginations run wild in free play mode by creating their very own designs. Style Lab: Jewelry Design combines teaching kids about jewelry design with letting them make their own creations.

This Learning Rating review was written by Erin Bell

Parents say

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Kids say

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What's it about?

STYLE LAB: JEWELRY DESIGN puts players in the shoes of a young woman who's just graduated design school and has decided to open a jewelry shop featuring her own creations. In each chapter of story mode, customers will arrive at the store with different demands, such as a fun bracelet with a pirate theme or a fancy necklace with some green in it, and the player must create the piece by selecting appropriate beads, choosing a compatible template, and arranging the beads in a stylish way. Satisfied customers will leave cash that can be used to unlock hundreds of additional beads.

Is it any good?

QUALITY
 

Whether it's filling customer orders in Story more or playing around with custom designs in the free play mode, Style Lab: Jewelry Design is a wonderful outlet for creativity and a decent primer for kids who might eventually like to try their hand at making "real" jewelry, too. While the graphics could be better - especially for a game that's all about style and aesthetics - and some of the tasks (like having to measure out lengths of chain or rotate earring pieces into their proper positions) seem like unnecessary make-work, the sheer number of beads and design possibilities make the game a good choice for artistically-minded kids.

Families can talk about...

  • What design choices look nice? For example, do you prefer symmetrical or asymmetrical patterns? What color combinations work well together?

  • Does designing jewelry in the game inspire you to try making some "real" jewelry too?

  • What are some of your favorite necklaces, earrings, and bracelets that you own?

  • What are some differences between a "fun" style and a "formal" style?

Game details

Platforms:Nintendo DS
Price:$29.99
Available online?Not available online
Developer:UbiSoft
Release date:November 10, 2009
Genre:Girl
ESRB rating:E for (No Descriptors) (Nintendo DS)

This review of Style Lab: Jewelry Design was written by

Erin Bell

About our rating system

  • ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
  • OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids of any age.

Find out more

Quality

Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging, great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging, good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging, okay learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

Find out more

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Teen, 14 years old Written byyahoolover July 11, 2010
AGE
10
QUALITY
 
i love it
What other families should know
Too much consumerism
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Kid, 11 years old May 30, 2010
AGE
11
QUALITY
 

the game i love my duighter don't

I love the game but my duighter thank me for making a good stop past is
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Kid, 9 years old November 11, 2010
AGE
8
QUALITY
 
love it
What other families should know
Too much sex
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