Column: Designing for Children

While most of the content and interactive elements in applications for children employ graphic components and vibrant color combinations, the way in which application’s combine these elements can lead to a great user experience or be a cause of frustration and confusion.

This column is a continuation of my last Designing for Children column, “Effective Use of Typography in Applications for Children.” In this column, I’ll discuss the optimal use of color and graphics when designing digital applications for kids between two and five years of age. Read More

I dedicated my last Designing for Children column to exploring the effective use of color and graphics in interactive applications for toddlers and preschoolers. In this installment, I’ll continue my exploration of the use of color and graphics, but this time, in applications directed toward older children. Read More

I’ve dedicated a significant portion of my career to conducting user experience research using participatory design methods. Throughout my years as a UX professional, this research practice has taken many forms. in both industrial and academic settings. Certainly, many of my most rewarding and insightful research experiences have included children as co-designers in a product development process.

Children are naturals for co-designing. In the right context with the right tools, kids have no problem unleashing their wildest ideas and dreams to create previously unimagined product concepts.

But conducting co-design sessions with children is no easy task, and a good amount of preparation and knowledge must go into such sessions. To learn how to do co-design with children, you must first understand both what co-designing with children in a product development context means and the theory behind this approach to design. Read More