Designing from a Child Centered perspective

The goal of the Child Centered Design for Play course, is for the designer to create from the perspective of the children. We have all been a child once, but do we truly understand what it’s like to be a child in 2023? To get a better understanding of this, the students called in help from the true experts: the children themselves. Over the course of 6 weeks, the students spent time with children between the ages of 8 to 10. They completed an internship on what it’s like to be a child, taking a look into their world. They co-created with the children, played and interacted in different settings, and designed through the child’s perspective.

Creating playful passages
With the insights from the children, one group of students created designs for the “Playline” for the municipality of Billund, also referred to as the Children’s Capital. The Playline is a playful route that connects the tourist attractions in the east of Billund and the city center in the west of Billund. The aim of the Playline is to create a clear, safe and playful route around Billund, for everyone to enjoy and interact with.

The other group of students created designs for a playful transition space between the International School of Billund and a new to come neighborhood called Travbyen, designed by KIRKBI. This space will be part of the route children from this neighborhood will take to school and back home every day, and with these designs the route to school will be more playful.

In this course, the students have received a guest lecture and feedback from Krystina Castella, Professor of Art Center College of Design and author of Designing for Kids: Creating for Playing, learning and growing (Routledge 2019).

Design School Kolding would like to thank all collaborators and participants in this course for their input and participation.