Play Designers from Kolding School of Design Partner with DR

Understanding the perspective of those we design for is essential. As a public service broadcaster, Danmarks Radio can stay true to its audience while often being bolder than its commercial competitors. But what really connects with children – in their hands, heads, and hearts?

Karen Feder, Associate Professor and member of the school’s Taskforce for Child-centred Play Design, explains:

- As designers, we need to keep expanding our understanding of the world. One example is our course ‘Child-centred Design’. By working with children – who are experts in being children – we can better understand their daily lives and play practices, and identify new opportunities to design with them.

In close collaboration with DR, students responded to real-world briefs to create playful media experiences designed for children.

- The students gave us a wealth of creative, playful, surprising, and very concrete ideas for how we can work on our projects in Children & Youth – always with the children as our compass, say Rikke Warrer Poulsen, Producer at DR B&U, and Thea Vinther, Editor at DR B&U.
They listened closely – not just to what the children said, but to what they showed us through their play. It’s been moving and inspiring. More than anything, this collaboration has encouraged us to work more systematically with child involvement and with play, both as a method and within our content.”

This year, students even spent time as “child interns” at the school’s trusted partner, the International School of Billund, to better understand children’s perspectives through direct experience.

The Child-centred Design course is part of the Design for Play specialisation in the Master’s programme at Kolding School of Design. Developed in partnership with the LEGO Foundation and the LEGO Group, it is the world’s first two-year Master’s degree dedicated to design and play.