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The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids Matt Elliott, The Henry Ford’s head of creative and digital experience, speaks to the inspiration he draws from design critic Alexandra Lange’s exploratory book on how children’s playthings and physical surroundings affect their development.
“THIS BOOK GAVE ME INSIGHT INTO HOW MY KIDS ARE SEEING THE WORLD AND HOW SIMPLE THINGS ARE HELPING TO MOLD THEM.” —M ATT ELLIOTT, HEAD OF CREATIVE AND DIGITAL EXPERIENCE, THE HENRY FORD
8
JUNE-DECEMBER 2021
Have you ever noticed how design influences our lives? The Design of Childhood by Alexandra Lange provides an in-depth look into how design and the things and items around us throughout our lives have a direct influence on our development and the way we see and think about the world. From early childhood, the items we play and learn with — like wooden blocks and Lego bricks — and the way our homes and cities are designed influence and shape the development and interactions of all of us. As a designer myself, I am fascinated by how things such as simple toys or architecture, from the development of planned communities to the differences between local versus government-built play spaces, can shape our learning and behavior. Now as a parent, I try to give my daughters the best opportunities to learn and grow, allowing them as much free play as I can — even when I am thinking in my head that’s not the way to do it. Lange shines light on the things that we often take for granted and experiences that we don’t always realize are working to shape us every day. This book gave me insight into how my kids are seeing the world and how simple things are helping to mold them, from collaborative learning spaces in schools to the evolution of playgrounds in the United States. As Massachusetts Emergency and Hygiene Association’s Kate Gannett Wells is quoted as saying in Lange’s book, “Playing in the dirt is the royalty of childhood.” The Design of Childhood is one of those texts that has rapidly become a coffee-table book for me, enticing me to pick it up, randomly open it to a page and dive in.
