DIPLOMA PROPOSAL- Second attempt

I. THE DESIGN BRIEF
To design a product (interactive kit), which is a compilation of creative exercises designed to make a child think out of the box. The exercises, many of which will involve storytelling, will then be compiled into a collection of short stories for children.

PROBLEM:

When we are young, our creativity is at its fullest because we are not limited in our thinking. As we grow older, school and society conditions us to think and behave in a certain way so much so that our creativity is curbed and our ability to imagine is diminished. Exercises in school encourage us to think in a manner that is more academic than creative, thus causing us to fall into linear thinking patterns rather than lateral ones. Curriculums in schools are often rigid to the point that there is no sense of play left in them; there is no excitement of discovery through imagination, there is purely a right and a wrong answer. Children’s book publishers too create activity books that are focused on the right answer, thereby neglecting to encourage and nurture the creative side of a child.

SOLUTION:

Part 1:
I propose to make a product for children from the age of 8 to 10 yrs that will be a compilation of exercises designed to encourage children to think out of the box. This product may be in the form of a workbook or an exercise kit, which will have various games that the child can play.

The focus of these exercises will be to build a child’s creativity. The exercises will have open-ended solution rather than close ended so that no answer is right or wrong, in fact each exercise may have more than one solution. While some exercises may allow a child to be completely free and express him/herself the way he/she imagines something, other exercises may be at a higher level of difficulty where the child may have to think within a framework provided to him, where the focus will be more on creative problem solving rather than creative storytelling through imagination.

Examples:

1: The beginning half of the story will be written. The end will be given and the child will have to fill in the middle so that the beginning, middle and end connect. There may be more than one solution to the story, and no solution will be considered wrong.

2:Images will be provided. The child has to create a story using these images.

3: A bizarre situation will be provided. The child has to come up with a convincing story as to how that situation came to be.

4: a nonsense verse will be provided. The child has to make up a story connecting each line.


Part 2:
The exercises that I create will then be tested on the children in workshops facilitated by me. These workshops will serve to introduce the child to the game and get his/ her feedback. The stories that emerge will then be compiled into short story books for children. These storybooks will be illustrated by me and will serve as a bi product of the project.

II. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Subject related:
1. What constitutes a good exercise for encouraging creativity in children?
2. What kinds of activity books exist in the market currently?
3. How do children respond to these exercises?
4. What methods are employed by schoolteachers to enhance creativity in children?
5. What do teachers and parents feel about the existing material? What is lacking in it and how can it be improved?
6. What subjects/topics to children of the targeted age group like to express their feelings about?

Product related:
1. What interactive elements will I use in my product?
2. What materials will I use to create the product?
3. What style of illustration will I use for the visuals?
4. How will I package this product?

III. APPROACH/PROCESS
Research about the activity books that are available in the market today, analysis of these to see how they can be improved.
Understanding what the need of the user is by talking to parents, teachers and other people involved with children’s education.
Creating exercises based on the research.
Testing the exercises with the identified user group in workshops facilitated by me. Through this interaction, I hope not only to get feedback on the exercises, but also stories from the children that have been created from the games designed for them. These stories will then be edited and illustrated by me, and will serve as an example of the kind of material the first part of the project hopes to create.
I feel that design can play an important role in the education of kids, and by creating the right kind of material we can encourage them to free their minds and think creatively. To involve them in the design process can be a learning experience for both them and the designer.


IV. MATERIALS/RESOURCES

Internet
http://www.tulikabooks.com


People:
Teachers from different schools across Bangalore such as Mallya Aditi, Poorna Vidyalaya, The Canadian School
Parents of children who lie within the targeted age group

Equipment:
Sound recorder, Digital Camera

V. LEARNING OUTCOMES
1.This project will give me a chance to learn more about children’s education.
2. It will help me build and apply my creative thinking as a I make exercises for children.
3.It will give me a chance to interact with children and learn from them.
4.It will give me experience in children’s book illustration.
5.It will give me a chance to explore the craft of making interactive material for children.
6. It will give me a chance to explore the craft of book design.