The Kids Are Alright

Designing with your heart is often required to achieve a good result. There is especially one type of projects where you really need to put your heart and emotions into the project and that is designing for kids. The great reward is also there – that is the only time when you can really bring out those vivid colors and funny ideas. But it is not all technicolor-fantasies-with-oompa-loompas, there are a lot of things to keep in mind. I’ve done my fair share of kids projects, ranging from 3D animated movies, DVD games, web sites, micro sites, digital magazines and cartoon movies. The hardest projects have been those where the target audience is both the kid and the parent. How do you successfully make a movie/game that makes a three-year-old happy and keeps the parent (who buys and reviews the product) satisfied. The kid loves to watch the movie fifty-five times in a row, the parent gets bored the second time. You may bewilder your target audience (the kid) but you push away your buyer (the parent).

A while back ago I was involved in a project based on one of the worlds greatest storytellers and children book authors – Astrid Lindgren. In a project like that you really try to push yourself to create something that honors her beliefs and world of stories – not something that appeals to a market segment. It’s more important to find the heart of the stories than to find the best call to action, if you get what I mean.

This actually applies to most kids design, because kids are very good at spotting what’s ”constructed” and what’s ”created”. If you put your heart into the project, use your humor and intuition, odds are that you will end up with something that kids will enjoy. You will also probably have a lot of fun doing it. However, there are also a lot of things you need to keep in mind.

- First off – the legal stuff. Marketing for kids is, thank god, very restricted and you need to know what to do and what not to do.

- Secondly – kids need the same level of good navigation as grown-ups. Kids will not be able to use a crappy navigation system just because the buttons are bright red and blinking – they need a good system.

- Thirdly - click areas should be large and call to actions easy to spot (as always).

- Fourthly – combine text and icons. Younger kids can’t read (duh).

- Fifth – bright lights – big city. Think vivid colors and large and easily spotted shapes.

 - Sixth – follow your heart, Luke.

One of the greatest compilations of kid sites available today with a lot of good pointers has been compiled by Smashing Magazine. Check it out for inspiration and ideas!

Related posts:

1. Will your kids pay for online content?
2. You think you know, but you (should) have no idea
3. Beautiful newsletter from Ann Taylor
4. Keys to a successful web site project

1. 

   I love Sarah Plain skriver:

   2010/01/25 kl 11:52 e m

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2. 

   culinary competition skriver:

   2010/05/17 kl 9:04 f m

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