November 2008
2 posts
Death of the Story? Nah.
From the New York Times:
“The movie world has been fretting for years about the collapse of stardom. Now there are growing fears that another chunk of film architecture is looking wobbly: the story. In league with a handful of former Hollywood executives, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Laboratory plans to do something about that on Tuesday, with the creation of a new Center...
Watchby Vancouver Film School student Michael Lewicki
September 2008
4 posts
And now lets get things started...
The New York Times has an article on how Disney is trying to bring the Muppets back. What’s amazing is that a brand and experience like the Muppets ever left. The show always had a subversive undertone though and we now live in an age where being subversive can get a whole lot of unwanted eyeballs, and other things, pointing in your direction. Let’s HOPE that Disney doesn’t...
Playground around and around
Good Magazine is covering education in their latest issue. They have a series of articles on the decline and current reinvention of playgrounds. There’s a lot of renewed buzz around play and its role in the health and cognitive development of kids. The conversations seem to be shifting away from simply advocating the basic need for play, to discussing the quality and context of play. ...
All that glitters
The latest contender for ultra mobile, yet rugged, and kid friendly computer dominance is the IDEO designed Spark. The world renowned innovation and design firm has partnered with Project Inkwell to conceptualize a slick rendering of what they imagine the future of educational computing to be for the K - 12 set. The Spark is not pretending to be a magic bullet for poverty in the 3rd World as was...
August 2008
1 post
Digital Natives
Q: At what point does technology stop being “technology” and just become “this thing”?
A: When your kid is holding it. Adults tend to treat technology with reverence, awe and downright silliness. Witness all the hullabaloo over the new iPhone 3G. Much of it has to do with rabid consumerism, the quest for status and conspicuous consumption, but most of the fervor is due to the sense of wonder...
September 2007
7 posts
“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too...”
– Madeleine L’Engle
A Summer Passing
From the New York Times:
“Madeleine L’Engle, who in writing more than 60 books, including childhood fables, religious meditations and science fiction, weaved emotional tapestries transcending genre and generation, died Thursday in Connecticut. She was 88.”
I am sure that all of us who were inspired and amazaed by Ms. L’Engle’s work are sadden by her passing.
“Infinity is present in each part. A loving smile contains all art. The motes of...”
– Madeleine L’Engle
Teeter Totter
Ikea keeps at it with this stylish take on the old seesaw. No other big box company consistently comes through with well designed and executed products for kids like a Ikea does season after season. I believe it comes down to Ikea’s belief that good design is fun and fun is what healthy kids crave, and healthy kids grow into healthy adults… and healthy adults shop at Ikea.
Mirror, Mirror
The New York Times has a back to school slideshow profiling the fashion sensibilities of 5 prominent clothes designers’ kids.
It’s interesting to see what kids growing up in that world wear, and to hear what they have to say. They’re not as shallow and vapid as I thought they’d be, which proves that kids, no matter whose they are, are still cool.
Cool Schools
BusinessWeek has an article detailing some innovative school programs employing technology to reach kids that might have otherwise missed out on opportunities afforded better funded schools and better connected communities.
“Children in Grapevine, Ark., often board the school bus in the dark, some even packing pillows and blankets. For students in Arkansas’ rural Sheridan School...
Plush TV
At the very least television maker HANNspree is at trying to do something different. By creating fun and inventive form factors for their LCD screens they are doing away with the “you can have it in any color you want as long as it’s black” mentality of television design . Although many of their designs are kind of kooky, and maybe even a little spooky, they are providing more opportunities...
August 2007
12 posts
Little Red Pegs
As if formalized eating wasn’t already hard enough for a kid, designer Wendy Boudewijns and manufacturer RoyalVKB have come out with this Red Dot Design Award winning Puzzle Tray, to add just a bit more anxiety to the process of clearing your plate. I’m gonna practice some self control here, and not spit Haterade all over this little prison inspired torture tray. I’m going to try and find...
“When drawing the sun, try to have on hand colored paper, chalk, felt-tip...”
– Bruno Munari
“When drawing a tree, always remember that every branch is more slender than the...”
– Bruno Munari
Feeling Luckey?
Core 77 says:
“Family-owned business Luckey & Luckey designs and builds Luckey Climbers for children’s museums, malls, zoos, and other kid-centric locations that welcome rambunctious rugrats who like to climb, jump, and hang. The net-and-platform structures spell out adventure with playfully curved surfaces and daredevil heights—how could a kid possibly resist? Each...
Roof Access
My new favorite magazine, Monocle, out of the UK has a photo essay on their site detailing the redesign of a kindergarten in Fuji Japan. “Architects Takaharu and Yui Tezuka joined forces with Kashiwa Sato, one of Toyko’s most respected creative directors to build, and brand, a novel kind of kindergarten in Tachikawa, a suburban area of Tokyo. Monocle’s Asia Bureau Chief Fiona Wilson...
A House Divided
The New York Times reports:
“Nickelodeon is expected to announce today that Noggin, the daytime commercial-free preschool network, and the N, a nighttime advertising-supported network for adolescents and teenagers, will become 24-hour stand-alone networks and no longer share channel space.”
This is huge news. The marriage between Noggin and the N has always been a bit rickety. By...
Funkey Fresh
Computers and computer peripherals for kids are becoming super hot as toy makers come to terms with the fact that parents don’t want their kids icky fingers all over their computers, but still want to provide the crumbsnatchers with a computer and Internet based entertainment. I covered the ClickStart from Leap Frog a while back and now Business Week has an article on some more products that...
Play School
“Soon New York City will be home to a new 6-12th grade public school that will use game design and game-inspired methods to teach critical 21st century skills and literacies. Opening in fall 2009, the school is being created by the Gamelab Institute of Play, a New York City-based not-for-profit organization that leverages games and play as transformative contexts for learning and...
OliGear
Daniel R. Oakley, the architect & toy maker behind the popular Oliblock buidling system, has crafted an engaging, and quite beautiful, magnetized interlocking gear system for kids.
Mr. Oakley has also designed this colorful magnetic puzzle…
… and a whole bunch more stuff that you can check out here.
Disney Acquires Club Penguin
The New York Times reports:
“Racing to solidify its dominant position in children’s entertainment on the Internet, the Walt Disney Company said Wednesday that it had acquired a subscription Web site aimed at preteenagers, Club Penguin, in a deal that could total $700 million.”
read the entire article here and check out what TechCrunch had to say here.
“ Eventually, everything connects.”
– Charles Eames
Eamesephant
“To celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Eames, Vitra is introducing a limited anniversary edition of the Eames Plywood Elephant, a legendary furniture sculpture that was designed in 1945 but never produced for general distribution and sale. Of the two known prototypes, only one remains in the Eames Family Archives.
Charles and Ray Eames were fascinated by elephants. Many images of...
Powers of 10
From Core 77:
“In 1977, the Eames’ made a great movie called Powers of 10. Starting with a sleeping man at a picnic, the film takes the viewer on a journey out to the edge of space and then back into a carbon atom in the hand of the man picnic, all in a single shot. Today, we can experience Nano Journeys, an interactive tour into the worlds of the micro- and nano-cosmos. Three...
July 2007
33 posts
WebbliWorld
My man Kai over in the UK sent this to me, it’s WebbliWorld.com! “Aardman Animations and Enable Interactive have created a new Interactive portal for Kids at www.webbliworld.com. Commissioned by WebbliWorld Ltd., the virtual world was designed and developed by Aardman, the U.K. animation entity behind the Wallace and Gromit shorts and feature film, as well as DreamWorks Animation’s Flushed Away...
The Magic Wheel
I can already see the SOMA hipsters drooling over this little contraption. But it’ll be the kids that really own the Magic Wheel. Check out the original Core 77 post here and peep the video below to see it in action.
Participatory Design
“So you’re 6 years old, you love playing with building blocks and you think the coolest job ever would be to play with building blocks for a living.
Iwan Lloyd Roberts of Pwllheli, Wales, got to enjoy that fantasy yesterday when he was invited to the Montreal headquarters of Mega Brands, makers of Mega Bloks, for a brainstorming design session with the manufacturers of the popular...
Grass in the Water
Slate has reviewed 7 kiddie pools for ease of pumping and filling, durability, capacity and splash factor! Bear with me folks, all the people who write about things that don’t feature hot moms in bikinis are on vacation. Hopefully I can scare up some more thought provoking fare tomorrow. But right now, I’m headed out the backyard to get me some splash factor.
“Young people don’t see “tech” as a separate entity -...”
– Andrew Davidson ~ VP of MTV’s VBS International Insight Unit
Keep It Simple
Reuters has an article covering two combined global surveys, by MTV/Nickelodeon and Microsoft, on kids’ attitudes and relationships to technology.
“The surveyors found the average Chinese computer user has 37 online friends they have never met, Indian youth are most likely to see cell phones as a status symbol, while one-in-three UK and U.S. teenagers say they cannot live without...
Yo'Play!
Social Design Network, Design 21, sponsored a kids’ toy design competition: “The DESIGN 21 series challenges designers of all disciplines to find solutions to social and global issues. It’s guided by UNESCO’s premise that education, science, technology, culture and communication are tools to spread knowledge and information, build awareness and foster dialogue.” Yo’Play, a yogurt packaging...
Sensix Allergy Alert System
Boston based design firm Essential has won a bronze International Design Excellence Award for their Sensix Allergy Alert System design concept. “Sensix is a monitoring and response system for children susceptible to severe allergic reactions. It includes three age-specific monitors that are physically and aesthetically suited to each age group. When an allergic reaction occurs, the monitor...
Lila
This collaborative storytelling design concept comes from Michael Cruz and Julia Frederking. It was recently awarded a bronze 2007 International Design Excellence Award.
“Lila is a digital-physical play module that allows children to collaborate on storytelling. By plugging in different combinations of pegs, children create animations that then appear on the digital touch screen. They...
e-Puzzle
Lite-on Technology has won an International Design Excellence Award for this design concept, which is a refreshing take on very old game, and maybe the best application of e-paper technology yet.
“E-puzzle uses e-paper technology to provide an infinite range of puzzle patterns using the same pieces. Parents can download patterns from the Internet or even select family photos from their...
H-Racer
This baby won a silver International Design Excellence Awards for consumer product design.
“The H-racer is not just a toy car: it is also a small-scale manifestation for environmentally sustainable, energy independent transportation based on hydrogen fuel cell technology. Children and their parents can watch as only water and the sun generate hydrogen in the fueling station and hydrogen...
The Museum of Science and Trucking, it ain’t.
In Jersey City, where everything old is new again, the Liberty Science Center has reopened after an extensive remodel and shift in educational philosophy. The New York Times has the most cynical review of a museum I’ve ever read, which is somewhat warranted given the museum’s stated social and educational goals. “The science museum, should provide “resources for living, learning, working in...
Wooden Robots
I don’t normally cover the collectable toy scene, because they’re not really toys and they’re not intended for kids. But I had to note this series of beautiful wooden figures from Japanese designers take-g toys.
As a rationalization for my stepping out of bounds, I’ll mention this equally cool transformer chair, which is a toy and for kids.
And this very simple, yet versatile set of...
The Museum of Childhood
Next time you’re in London pop on over to The Museum of Childhood. They’ve got a nice collection of toys, games and dollhouses on display that range from antiques to modern classics.
There’s also bunch of interesting exhibits showing now through March 2008.
Dreams of Flying by Jan von Holleben 14 July - 21 October 2007
“Crossing the desert on the back of a dog, or searching for lost...
Screen Kids
The Guardian Unlimited has a story about the latest Watching, Wanting and Wellbeing report from the National Consumer Council in the UK.
Apparently, kids from poor families are twice as likely to have a television in their rooms, than kids from wealthier families. They also found that: “Children’s TV appears to be losing its appeal to youngsters, who say they are not watching...
DigiBarbie
TechCrunch says: “Mattel’s virtual world Barbie Girls hit the 3 million user mark in its first 60 days and is growing at the rate of 50,000 new users a day, according to a report from the Scientific American. To put that in perspective, Second Life took 3 years to get to 1 million registered users. At its current growth rate, Barbie Girls should pass the number of Second Life registered users...
“Millions of children and adolescents are spending hours on these sites, which...”
– Matt Richtel and Brad Stone ~ New York Times