(Cover photo – Estonian Children’s Literature Center in Taalinn – Estonia)

Singapore Tourism released an interesting promotional video about travel seen through children’s eyes. It highlights how different the expectations and experiences of children are during a trip and we can say simply in everyday life.

There is also the following promotion video for Helsinki airport, focused on children interests while spending time at the airport and on how Helsinki airport is taking in consideration these specific activities.

Designing ‘for’ and ‘with’ children, means taking into account how they consider themselves through the products to be created and how they would best use them. It means somehow being able to see through their eyes, through observation and discussions with them but as well to add an adult vision for a deep understanding of what could to lead them towards a better living and future.

“Children are skillful communicators capable of expressing themselves in many different ways, and they actively contribute to, and influence, the world around them. As experts of their own experiences it is important to include them in decisions regarding their own way of life.” – Co-Design with Children, Anja Stedjeberg Hansen

Therefore children become co-researchers of the development process, as we encourage them to explore a specific field and to co-partner with them, as real team members. This process enables co-creation and participatory design with children.

Spending continuously and in a natural manner time with children is the best way to learn from them and to pay more attention on how they evolve in different contexts. With the occasion of this happy and collaborative time, we have conducted a first Observation phase based on discovery and research. Here are the main principles that emerged during our late spring travel through Finland, Sweden and Estonia and that will represent a strong basis for our Wear-Abouts processes.

This observation phase, which is a continuous phase in the framework of a Lean methodology (testing through experimentation cycles), is leading us to the Definition phase and the Prototyping phase.

Wear-Abouts conceptual principles are based on alternative education approaches, such as positive psychology, outdoor education, autonomous education, which are important emerging approaches in Europe and beyond, more focused on children-parents relations and well being as well as children’s development as individuals.

The research phase is based on 5 key children’s development needs:

• Health
• Social skills
• Relate with others
• Learning
• Parenting capacities

 

Health

Spend energy

This is a very important parameter to consider while travelling with a child. It changes somehow the travel map, especially in non-natural areas like cities or long travels in car or plane. In these environments, locals know best about children parks and areas, which are safe for children, or dedicated activities where children can run and climb freely.

Moomin park in Porvoo – Finland

If Wear-Abouts garments will be created to be comfortable in order for children to feel good and free while living their lives, the playful time ‘reading’ the illustrated pattern with the app will be designed to make children move and not adopt a static position front of a device. The content provided will also highlight, for parents, suitable areas for children or proper information to find these places.

Play outdoors – connect with nature

In such natural, green and preserved environments, “outdoor” is a must even if the weather is not always suitable, but this is a central and southern European view! In more northern countries, proper outfits are available for almost any weather condition.

Cottage life by the lake in Salonsaari – Finland

Playing outdoors and in nature is a very important component of the Wear-Abouts concept. Because this concept is based on the idea to use an everyday object or item (a garment or accessory previously purchased or offered) with a device, to foster more time to be spent outside for children and families. Somehow Wear-Abouts products aim to act as assistants for transforming non-quality time in quality time and giving concrete ideas in order to develop a more sustainable practice. Nowadays studies on the lack of connection between children and nature and the damaging effect it has on children development are multiplying.

Social skills and relate with others

Do by myself

Setting up proper conditions and allowing a child to do things by himself is a very important condition for a child’s development as well as his or her self-esteem. Needs vary according to age, but autonomous capacity remains important.

Heinola, on the way to Siltasaari island – Finland

Involving children in a travel preparation, and as well better considering children in the cultural/tourism field is an important opportunity for them to become actors of their own travel experience, experiments and discoveries. Wear-Abouts aims to be a facilitator in this field, bringing countries and regional areas’ cultures/specificity to children’s clothing and accessories in order to prepare a travel and experience it through their own eyes.

Not too far

Of course, children strongly need their parents, at the right distance according to their ages. That’s why Wear-Abouts products offer a double approach for children and their parents and allow them to spend quality time together as well as moments on their own.

Bears family in Tuusula – Finland

Meet

Leaving our comfort zone is by definition proper for encounters. Traveling is living a new adventure, and seeing new places, meeting new people, learning other cultures, understanding differences; it is creating situations where social connections will be facilitated.

Estonian Children’s Literature Center‘s attic in Taalinn – Estonia

Wear-Abouts contents encourage families to meet locals, in various ways and mainly through facilitating connections (finding them, breaking the ice, exchange with them) because we believe that it is the best way to travel sustainably and to understand and respect the countries and people visited.

Change perspective

Children are champions at making adults change perspectives. From their low view angle and age, they see the world completely different. Their attention is focused on different matters and their inner freedom is a rich source of imagination. Let’s simply say they have very different agendas!

Moomin window in Sofo, Stockholm – Sweden

While adults and parents are preparing a travel and a visit, taking their children with them, it might be that in the end children change the program and take their parents and relatives to their very own world. It is the mission of Wear-Abouts and the reason why we propose a double entry to the online content, for children AND for adults, on a same theme, to foster these dialogues and exchanges where each other visits in fact the world of the other one.

Experience through play

“The most important thing is to play . Through the game, the imagination and emotions of the little ones can flow and go out”

Play is everything as it is a way to explore the world around, involving physical and intellectual activities and learning the sensations and skills that a child will need to grow up and become an adult one-day. Playtime should foster sensory approaches and offer multiple experiences.

Children’s world at Oodi library, Helsinki – Finland

Wear-Abouts uses the concept of travel and tourism to foster a playful approach for children. For a child, playtime is all the time, so travel time is too! Moreover, this time becomes even more favorable through a no-school lens and through the expectancy of living nice moments. It also addresses the anxiety of some children to leave their familiar environment through helping them prepare a travel together with their parents and constructing a personal perspective of the destination before departure. As well for some children, for whom the prospective of traveling or holidays could seem unpleasant or a synonym of boredom, our products can inspire them playful moments and engage parents in making new discoveries.

Explore

N°1 children hobby…move and explore! Children’s appetite for discovering the world around them and learning is limitless. Encountering new shapes, materials, objects is a real pleasure for them and this is a principle that we want to involve in the discovery process of our illustrated patterns’ elements, through a ‘reader’ app, and through alternative content to be displayed as well as physical discoveries on the sites, to follow.

Nice baby chair design at Oodi library, Helsinki – Finland

Parents and families often have little time to prepare a travel, and difficulties to find non-conventional information. The aim of our concept is to facilitate this task and provide an easier access for the preparation and implementation of a travel.

Feel

Children’s senses are widely open; their sensitivity helps them experience the world around them, in another manner. Nature is a wonderful and rich playground, but sensations are everywhere in our lives. Cultural and tourism actors are starting to work and develop more the sensorial approach of travel and experiences.

Fiskars’ village alleys – Finland

Wear-Abouts fully integrates this sensorial approach in its works at various levels, through illustrations and online or offline discoveries.

Imagine

“In moments of crisis, only imagination is more important than knowledge” A. Einstein

Imagination has the power to change the world. Especially children’s imagination that is so vivid and powerful can lead us to not only to seeing the world from a different and better angle, but to act as shapers of our own reality.

Cottage life by the lake in Salonsaari – Finland

Through the visits fostered by the Wear-Abouts products, children and their families become active participants in shaping the local imaginary. They not only visit a place, but also set the basis for constructing a ‘way of traveling’ that is respectful of the environment and encourages encounters that promote cultural diversity. This is ultimately enriching for us all human beings.

Create

Holiday’s free time is a wonderful time to create! Inspired by new environments, children are often integrating these new elements observed during the travel in their very own creations. It is also a time when families can join them in this exercise, under the sun or through rainy days, and unleash their children spirit for few hours.

Creative time in Porvoo – Finland

Our next step will be to involve Children as Designers, Experimenting freely with illustrated patterns and non-connected interactivity, helping us to reflect on our own creation process for Wear-Abouts products and to Build prototypes.

Parents are invited to take part in the workshop with their children, to enjoy funny and quality time together and help us Consider the family and parental interactions.

This approach will take the form of several workshops, for schools and for the public, during the Helsinki Children’s Design Week, on the 13th, 14th and 15th of September 2019.

For the public: https://www.helsinkidesignweek.com/events/childrens-weekend-a-secret-garden/

For schools: https://www.helsinkidesignweek.com/events/secret-garden/

Workshops description

The event addresses the theme ‘a secret garden’ in relation with the Annantalo house shared garden and its ecosystem.

These species will be highlighted through models to be re-drawn by children. A magic tool will enable them to discover secret messages hidden among their drawings. Children will be invited to bring old clothes or accessories in white cotton (shirt, bag, pillowcase, fabric napkins, paper will also be available) to draw on them. The objective is to encourage children to re-use old items.

The workshop is built on the involvement of children in the design of their clothes’ patterns based on their own perspectives and developing curiosity and creativity.

Workshop for schools: In English only. Sessions of 1 hour will be proposed (for a standard class). Teachers must take part, ensure the group cohesion and help with the Finnish-English languages.

Open workshop (0-12 years old. Babies included): Children with parents can come any time. Open workshop, with magic paper/or own clothes with a magic tool and markers to draw. The Finnish illustrators Miila Westin and Elina Savolainen will make a demonstration as they will draw their own secret garden and draw with children (day/time to be announced).

This article and our Wear-Abouts design work is developped according to the Design for Children’s Rights guide principles: https://childrensdesignguide.org/

Guide’s keywords are highlighted in bold font.

The Secret garden workshops conducted during the Helsinki Children’s Design Fair 2019, are sponsored by Finnish, Estonian and Swedish entities active in the field of design/decoration, children literature and illustration:

-IKEA Finland (Vantaa) https://www.ikea.com/fi/fi/

They are providing a wide range of materials for drawing as well as very nice decoration items on the theme of the garden.
IKEA is publishing every year a Sustainability report “reporting progress from across the IKEA value chain and franchise system towards the commitment to become People & Planet Positive”. https://newsroom.inter.ikea.com/…/409b1d78-7d7b-4f48-a63d-3…

– The Estonian Children’s Literature Center (Tallinn) http://www.elk.ee/?lang=en

The center is kindly providing beautiful children books written/illustrated by Estonian authors/illustrators adressing the themes of the garden, nature and climate.

You can download their leaflet here ELK_voldik_ENG_trykk

– Koja Agency (Stockholm, Sweden) http://kojaagency.com/

The agency is kindly providing as well amazing children books written/illustrated by Swedish authors/illustrators adressing the themes of the garden, nature and climate.