t using existing content to bolster subscription services, mainly by recycling characters and artwork from their extensive libraries. Visitors have pretty much instant access to many high-impact static images and the means to build their own mini-comics and heroic characters in 2-D. There’s no need for much 3-D in these circumstances, because the websites are mainly about enjoying the comic book format. Video games and movies linked to recognized comic brands are already licensed to alternative distribution channels.
Education Arcade’s report (PDF) discusses attempts to combine video game entertainment and education (or “edutainment”) several years ago. These efforts show the dangers of passing off learning activities as fun by sugar-coating them with mini-games. Some game websites, including Sony’s FreeRealms, have succeeded in offering independent learning within a decidedly gaming world. For now, delivering formal learning through genuinely entertaining websites remains a relatively expensive proposition.
However, Sims 3 and Free Realms are examples of highly flexible but not hugely expensive resources that support a wide range of curriculum priorities. For those who need more convincing, the relatively new start-up MangaHigh is an encouraging effort to combine purposeful number-crunching alongside genuinely entertaining design and gameplay.
The dividing line can be uncertain and contextual, but as soon as kids sense that an activity or interaction prioritizes a lesson ahead of engagement and motivation, they seem to switch off.
Ordinarily, now would be the time to highlight a couple of points as key considerations. But it might be more helpful to draw attention to a particular approach that hasn’t been covered yet but that stands out from the rest.
Kids enjoy novelty, and adults go to a lot of trouble to organize parties and outings that give kids new ideas and novel experiences. Ideally, a website aimed at kids does the same. Ask yourself what you could offer that would fit seamlessly in their existing Web experience and that would enable them to do something they haven’t done before.
If you want to do that, you’ll need to suppress the urge to start on screen and spend a bit more time in the planning stage. The reward is a much tighter fit between your design and the kids you’re designing for.
Case Studies And Tutorials
The websites identified above as examples of good design share a number of characteristics, including a strong visual style, plenty of color and a focus on clarity. Cartoons are perhaps the most popular style right now, but designers have a lot of options. A look at the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods would help most teams. The right side of the table is the place to pick up ideas on designing for kids.
Archives and Museum Informatics reviews the design process for the Tate Gallery’s online resources for kids aged 6 to 12. The case study, titled “Doing It for the Kids: Tate Online on Engaging, Entertaining and (Stealthily) Educating Six to 12-Year-Olds,” offers a step-by-step approach to meeting the design requirements of a large organization. Cartoons and comics are not the only option, but they have a visual language that many kids appreciate. Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics has been around for a while, and it is an invaluable guide to designing comic art or in a comic style in any media.
Participants in the 2011 SxSW Interactive festival visualized the entire conference using infographics. Their efforts led to the remarkable display of sketches, charts and diagrams on display at Ogilvy Notes. One of the visualizations is all about Web design for kids and well worth a visit. The chart provides a good starting point for thinking about what factors to take into account when mapping out a website for kids.
Web designers with strong graphic design skills have a valuable weapon in their arsenal. Those without affordable access to such skills could be at a disadvantage, but it’s surprising how much can be achieved with a digital camera and some cheap software. For example, Comic Life is inex