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Design for Kids

design for kids spot image

Digital Products for Playing and Learning

By Debra Levin Gelman

Published: July 2014
Paperback: 248 pages
Paperback ISBN: 978-1933820-30-9
Ebook ISBN: 978-1933820-43-9

Emotion. Ego. Impatience. Stubbornness. Characteristics like these make creating sites and apps for kids a daunting proposition. However, with a bit of knowledge, you can design experiences that help children think, play, and learn. With Design for Kids, you’ll learn how to create digital products for today’s connected generation.

Emotion. Ego. Impatience. Stubbornness. Characteristics like these make creating sites and apps for kids a daunting proposition. However, with a bit of knowledge, you can design experiences that help children think, play, and learn. With Design for Kids, you’ll learn how to create digital products for today’s connected generation.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Kids and Design
Chapter 2: Playing and Learning
Chapter 3: Development and Cognition
Chapter 4: Kids 2-4: Little People, Big Expectations
Chapter 5: Kids 4-6: The “Muddy Middle”
Chapter 6: Kids 6-8: The Big Kids
Chapter 7: Kids 8-10: The “Cool” Factor
Chapter 8: Kids 10-12: Growing Up
>Chapter 9: Design Research
Chapter 10: An App for All Ages
Chapter 11: Putting It All Together

FAQ

These common questions about designing for kids and their short answers are taken from Debra Levin Gelman’s book Design for Kids: Digital Products for Playing and Learning. You can find longer answers to each in your copy of the book, either printed or digital version.

  1. How is designing for kids different from designing for adults? How is it similar?
    Similar to designing for adults, designing for kids requires a strong understanding of your users and what they need and want. However, what differentiates designing for a child audience and an adult one is that children change really quickly. In just six months, a 2-year-old experiences significant cognitive, motor, and technical growth, while an adult’s skills in these areas remain pretty stable. It’s important to keep these changes in mind as you develop sites and games that can grow with your audience.Also, while adults usually have a clear end goal in mind when they use an interface, kids are in it for the journey. Just using a computer or an iPad is a treat for them. It’s all part of the adventure. You’ll still have requirements to follow and goals to achieve, but for the most part you can have a little more fun with the details.
    Chapter 2 provides more information about these similarities and differences and what they mean when designing for different audiences.

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