E. Baines

Realising a child's imagination through a child-led product design for both two-dimensional and three-dimensional products

The imagination and creative ability of a child is something that is a pleasure to see in designs created by children. Unfortunately, when children design, they are subject to adult influence, which is reflected in designs that show lower creativity. In order to realise the purity of the imagination of the child, adult involvement needs to be excluded. This study is based on the argument that children can produce pure art if pedagogical influences are excluded. Children created designs independent of adult involvement during the study and the creativity in their work was measured against factors in terms of pure and uninfluenced design. Comparisons were made with designs produced in school. The child-led approach was extended to realise designs through 2D and 3D product development, using silk-screen and 3D printing. The results showed that an absence of adult involvement increased creativity.