Designing for Kids by Castella, Krystina;

Short description:

Designing for Kids helps design students and professionals dive deeply into building a child-centered design practice, providing them with the knowledge, skills and tools to create products with a positive impact on child development, learning, play, and well-being. 

Long description:

Designing for Kids helps design students and professionals dive deeply into building a child-centered design practice, providing them with the knowledge, skills, and tools to create products with a positive impact on child development, learning, play, and well-being.

This fully updated second edition incorporates current and emerging childhood research and analysis that impact the design process. It includes topics such as digital technology and artificial intelligence, mental health, identity, climate change, sustainability, and children with disabilities. It supports college classes, company onboarding, and professional settings where young people are the end users of products and designed experiences. In addition to insights from professional designers, this edition also includes interviews with child psychologists and diverse case studies from North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand from various industries and contexts. From these, readers will learn updated design approaches and how to incorporate them into their work to create products and services for a global market. This textbook offers readers more than 350 color images, helpful discussion questions, practical frameworks, skill-building assignments, and debate questions that have been tested in conference workshops, colleges, nonprofits, and corporations.

It is written for product designers who want to build more play value into toys, furniture, or schools; architects designing regenerative playgrounds, museum exhibits, or children’s hospitals; and technologists seeking ethical and educational approaches to interactive games and learning systems. Readers will build a strong foundation in designing for and with children, learning how to create developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant designs. This book will provide the skills and foundational understanding of how to design impactful products, services, and experiences that spark joy and support young people to thrive.

Praise for the first edition

"Krystina is a true Renaissance Woman, skilled in integrating her own multi-faceted interests and experience with the expertise of others. In this project she’s channeled her enthusiasm for a holistic approach into an exhaustive study of the complex process of designing for children."

Cas Holman, Designer of Playthings, Founder of Heroes Will Rise

"From skate parks to ethics, video games to Montessori education, and gendered toys to children’s drawing development; Krystina Castella has mapped the rich breadth of factors affecting designing for kids. This book summarizes these factors for designers, allowing both a high-level view and a detailed how-to level, of the design process for children."

Shuli Gilutz, PhD UX research, Child Rights & Digital Business Program Officer at UNICEF

"Designing for kids is designing for the future. The objects both physical and virtual will mold a child’s future and Krystina Castella’s brilliant book will help designers bring that future to life."

Steven Heller, Co-chair Emeritus SVA MFA Design/Designer, Author, Critic/Historian and Entrepreneur

"An invaluable resource for both novice and experienced designers in the kid space. Filled with interesting and actionable takeaways, this book allows you to incorporate its teachings into your work immediately. It’s delightful and inspiring, and well worth a read."

Brendan Boyle, Founder of the IDEO Play LAB and Associate Professor at Stanford University

"Designing for Kids is an excellent pedagogical toolbox for teachers who seek to innovate their work in the classroom with the latest approaches to design thinking. This book is a case study in design thinking itself with its meticulous attention to both theory and practice with foremost empathy for both the teacher and student. Castella does a magnificent job of tailoring her design thinking methods to specific development stages of a child—spanning cognitive, physical, and emotional dimensions. It’s destined to be a classic for any STEAM educator who seeks to master design thinking in the classroom."

John Maeda, Technologist and product experience leader, VP Engineering, Head of Computational Design/AI Platform

"This book is a comprehensive textbook analysis for any designer of playful objects and playgrounds. Krystina provides an in-depth analysis through the eyes of many very successful designers of children’s products as to how and why we as humans are wired to play throughout our lives. Her work provides great insight into understanding the complexity of designing a child’s product. This book will inspire us, old and new alike, to design a child’s product, toy or playful environment with a new perspective."

Ken S. Kutska, CPSI Executive Director, International Playground Safety Institute, Inc.

"When I reflect on what is truly unique about the design mindset, it always comes back to three things: impact, empathy, and play. In Designing for Kids, Castella provides educators and practitioners with actionable methodologies that help us excel at creating design artefacts that do just that."

Matthew Manos, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Design, USC Iovine and Young Academy; Founder and Managing Director

"Brilliantly written, comprehensive, and detailed guidebook on how to design and develop products exclusively for children. Enriched with case studies and learning tools from experts and thought leaders in the industry. A must-have reference book for all times."

Yesim Kunter, Play Expert and Futurist

"Learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged lifelong learners. The ability to ‘make believe’ can take people’s minds to places where no one has gone before. Weaving together insights from academic research with compelling interviews and project examples, Castella’s book makes a compelling case about the critical role that smart and socially responsible design has in unlocking the power of play. This is an inspiring read that is full of wisdom and best practices, one that every designer who aspires to create consequential products, services and experiences for children and teens will want to have on their library shelf."

Mariana Amatullo, PhD Professor, Parsons School of Design, The New School, Honorary President Cumulus Association

"A thorough and comprehensive resource for all the facets of designing for children, from clothes to physical spaces and everything in between. As a children’s museum professional, I would recommend this book to any of my colleagues who are looking at creating new experiences at their museum. There is a lot to be gained from considering a design process with what we already know about how children work in our museum environments."

Lauren Kaye, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Children’s Museum Tucson

"Thoughtful and breathtaking in its scope, Designing for Kids proves itself an invaluable resource. Krystina Castella melds her years of experience and expertise with nearly 100 interviews with industry professionals across a wide range of fields providing deep, real-world insights. Design Prompts throughout each section ask critical questions acting as launchpads inspiring deeper thought, creativity, and exploration!"

Eric Poesch, Design Consultant, Former Senior Vice President of Design and Product Development, Uncle Milton Industries

"Not only is this book all you need to know about any sort of design, but it is also a comprehensive review of early child development. The tradecraft is right, and the background science is up to the minute."

Jay Beckwith, Play Systems Designer, Expert in residence Gymboree play and music

Table of Contents:

Part 1 The Design Process  1. The Research and Design Process Part 2 Child Development  2. Development Stages  3. Physical Development  4. Cognitive Development  5. Social and Emotional Development  Part 3 Childhood Today  6. Play  7. Education  8.Children's Spaces  9. Media and Technology