Design Secrets from the Sandbox: How Kids Spark Innovation and what can we learn from them
I like to see the world through the eyes of a child.
Recently, I took a course about Learning Innovation. According to it, children should actively participate in the learning process. They must be in the centre. It reminds me of an incredible project about helping professionals with the literacy of autistic children through a methodological approach from the perspective of Jean Piaget, where children have an active role in building their knowledge.
Based on Piaget’s Constructivism, the project proposes a literacy experience by stimulating the child’s perception, attention, association, memory, reasoning, imagination, thought and language. According to his approach, cognitive development, which is the basis of learning, occurs through assimilation. Real and concrete knowledge is constructed through experiences, i.e. learning is a personal interpretation of the world.
The user is at the centre of the process.
Leaning Innovation puts the children in the centre of the process and offers them ‘key’ skills indispensable for their knowledge:
According to the course, teachers become ‘designers’, and through designing, implementing and monitoring they will enhance children’s learning experience. And I agree. But during the course, I also thought about how we (adults) can learn from them. Especially us designers. Children are known for their incredible creativity, originality and imagination, which designers can learn much from.
With this educational approach and experience, they will be able not just to ‘reproduce’ their knowledge like “the sky is blue, and the grass is green” but insert this knowledge in the real world, asking why the grass is green but the sky is blue and understanding that grass owes its green colour to the pigment in chloroplasts called chlorophyll. According to this knowledge, they will enhance their critical thinking and understand how the world works. Everything they learn will be part of a wider context.
Children possess an innate sense of curiosity, imagination, and uninhibited creativity that can be incredibly valuable. They often approach problems with fresh eyes and unconventional perspectives and can think outside the box, which leads to unexpected and innovative solutions that we (adults) might overlook. They have a knack for simplifying complex ideas and concepts, and their direct approach can help simplify the design process by focusing on the core elements and removing unnecessary complexities.
For example, if someone asks me “What is love” I’d probably go round and round trying to explain the feelings and how good it is to love. Or simply say: I don’t know. My little niece:
“Sweetie, what is love?
Love is when someone gives you food”
Helena, 5 years old.
What can we learn from them?
Designers can learn a multitude of valuable lessons from children, including:
Creativity. Children approach problems with uninhibited creativity. They often come up with imaginative solutions that adults may overlook due to preconceived notions or limitations. Designers can learn to embrace a more playful and exploratory mindset, allowing for more creative ideation and problem-solving.
Curiosity: Children are naturally curious and eager to explore the world around them. We can learn to ask more questions, challenge assumptions, and delve deeper into understanding user needs and behaviours. Cultivating curiosity can lead to more insightful design solutions and a deeper connection with users.
Fearlessness: Children are not afraid to take risks or make mistakes. They approach new challenges with a sense of curiosity and adventure, unencumbered by the fear of failure. Designers can learn to embrace experimentation and iterate more freely, knowing that failure is an essential part of the creative process. I also wrote about the designer’s secret skill here: The Service Designer’s discreet skill is courage.
Resilience: Children demonstrate remarkable resilience in the face of obstacles and setbacks. They bounce back quickly from failures and setbacks, approaching challenges with renewed determination. Designers can learn to persevere in the face of design challenges, embracing setbacks as opportunities for growth and learning.
Imagination: Children have vivid imaginations and boundless creativity. They can envision worlds and possibilities that adults may struggle to conceive. Designers can learn to tap into their imagination and think more expansively when conceptualizing design ideas. Embracing imagination can lead to more innovative and visionary design solutions. They also have a remarkable ability to simplify complex concepts, which can be a valuable lesson for us.
Clear Communication: Children often have a knack for distilling complex ideas into simple, understandable language. We can learn from children’s straightforward communication style and strive to simplify their messaging, making it more accessible to a broader audience.
Iterative Learning: Children often learn through trial and error, iterating on their ideas until they find a solution that works for them. We can learn from their iterative learning process and embrace experimentation and iteration in their design process, continuously refining their designs until they achieve simplicity without sacrificing functionality.
Sparking innovation
Children possess a remarkable ability to spark innovation through their unconventional thinking, fearlessness, and boundless imagination. They approach problems with fresh perspectives, unencumbered by the constraints of conventional wisdom, which allows them to consider solutions that adults might overlook. Their fearless attitude towards failure encourages experimentation and risk-taking, fostering a culture of innovation where new ideas can flourish. Children’s vivid imaginations enable them to envision possibilities that adults may struggle to conceive, inspiring innovative concepts and directions across various fields.
Their insatiable curiosity, adaptability, and playful exploration drive them to seek out new experiences and solutions. Their natural inclination to ask questions and challenge assumptions fuels exploration and discovery, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and inspiring creative breakthroughs. Children’s innate qualities of curiosity, fearlessness, imagination, and adaptability make them powerful catalysts for innovation, inspiring adults to think creatively and explore new frontiers of possibility.
And you? Have you been looking at the world through the eyes of a child?
