Kerpoof, a web-based creative design suite for children that launched at 2007′s TechCrunch 40, has been acquired by Disney. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Kerpoof’s online portal at Kerpoof.com will continue to operate as its technology is deployed on Disney’s homepage.
Kerpoof is a good fit for Disney: the company’s technology is primarily image-based with little instruction needed so it’s ideal for kids, and it has become increasingly popular in classrooms worldwide. Creating a picture generally consists of dragging and dropping images from the site’s large collection of clip art, but users can also draw their own doodles and insert speech bubbles. The editor also includes a number of ‘smart’ features – for example, as users move their images through the pseudo-3D landscapes, the editor will automatically resize them to fit perspective. Kerpoof has a half-dozen different editing modes, including movies, E-cards, pictures, and story books, each of which takes advantage of the same accessible interface.
Disney has already begun to integrate the technology on its Disney Characters site (click the button that says ‘Make a Picture’), where users can create custom Disney-themed images, which they can then print out to make a personalized coloring book. It’s likely we’ll see more new features that take of Kerpoof’s technology in the near future.
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