What we should teach children
about design

Erika Lee and Zoë Marrich-Simon

Toddler

Little Kid

Elementary School Kid

Bigger Kids - Adult

Emotion

Lifestyle

Experience

...and product placement is out of control

#1 Ask questions.

Who is this design for?
What does the designer or creator want us to do with this information?
What is the purpose?

http://www.definitelyrealquotes.com/

https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/

https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/leopard-shark

#2 Be skeptical.

How is this design / image / video constructed?
How do I double-check (verify) whether this is a real?
Am I being tricked?

https://medium.com/@mosaicofminds/the-curb-cut-effect-how-making-public-spaces-accessible-to-people-with-disabilities-helps-everyone-d69f24c58785

https://www.wired.com/story/closed-captions-everywhere/

BEAUTY + FUNCTION

#3 Good designs are helpful.

Is this design functional, beautiful or both?
Is it easy to use?
Does it take who needs to use or understand in mind?
What would you do to make this design better?

#4 Good designs also...

have elements/aspects that are the same (unity),
add interest by making something different (variety)
are organized (alignment, proximity, etc..)
often have a focus -- something that is the most important (emphasis, hierarchy)

Visual mathematics is an important part of mathematics for its own sake and new brain research tells us that visual mathematics even helps students learn numerical mathematics.

Visual Literacy Also Matters

Visual literacy is the ability to:

Process and make meaning of information presented in an image
Communicate our own ideas through principles of design
Create our own messages that capture our visual thinking in a way that conceptualizes problems to given solutions