Ce ntu ry o f th e Ch i ld : G rowi ng by D esig n , 1900 –2000
Designers of the modern period have done some of their most innovative work with children in mind. Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900–2000 brings together an unprecedented collection of objects and concepts from around the world in order to investigate the fascinating confluence of modern design and childhood. The wideranging ideas described here — from the beginning of the kindergarten movement to wartime propaganda, from design for children with disabilities to innovations in playground design — illuminate how
development, and well-being of children that has only grown over the decades since. Her book provides the launching point for this one, which includes sixty-five short essays on school architecture, playgrounds, toys and games, educational materials, nurseries, furniture, animation, advertising, books, and clothing. An introductory essay by Juliet Kinchin gives historical context to this kaleidoscopic narrative of ideas, practitioners, and artifacts. Together with more than four hundred illustrations, these texts examine individual and collective visions for the material world of children.
progressive design has shaped the physical, intellectual, and emotional development of children and, conversely, how models of children’s play and pedagogy have inspired designers’ creative experimentation. The title Century of the Child is borrowed from the Swedish
J u li et Ki nch i n
is Curator of Modern Design in the Department
of Architecture and Design at The Museum of Modern Art.
design and social theorist Ellen Key, whose landmark book of the same
Ai dan O’Con nor
name, published in 1900, forecast a new preoccupation with the rights,
of Architecture and Design at The Museum of Modern Art.
is a Curatorial Assistant in the Department
KI NCH I N O’CO N NO R