Design for children

Discussion articles

  • Children are users too (PDF)
    At the March UK UPA meeting, Ella Tallyn and Jon Pettigrew were the guest speakers who offered lessons from their own experience as well as practical advice for working in user-centred design with children. What kind of mental models do children have? What are the best - and worst - ways of working with them? What should you watch out for when planning to work with children? And how can you get the most out of the experience?

  • Designing usable sites for children and teens
    "Termed the 'Net Generation' by psychologist Don Tapscott, children born in the 80s and onward in the United States are 'logging on' to the Internet at increasing rates. So, what does this mean for web designers? Well, just as any audience presents certain challenges and affordances, new considerations must be made when designing effective sites for a young audience. However, it is often difficult for an adult designer to accurately remember what it is like to be 10 years old, and so it is important to turn to research conducted with children and teens to get a sense of their preferences."
    (Grace Bernhardt - Content Matters)

  • Guidelines for usability testing with children (PDF)
    Although user-centered design is a well-supported concept in the literature on adult computer products, not until recently have publications begun to appear addressing the need to include the user in the design process of children’s computer products.

  • Interface design for children's searching and browsing
    "Elementary-age children are among the largest user groups of computers and the Internet, so it is important to design searching and browsing tools that support them. However, many interfaces for children do not consider their skills and preferences. Children are capable of doing Boolean searches, but have difficulty with the sequential presentation of hierarchical structures used in many category browsers. Based on previous research, we believed a simultaneous presentation of a flat category structure might better support children. We conducted two studies of searching and browsing with these two types of category browsers. Our results suggest that a flat, simultaneous interface provides advantages for both Boolean searching and casual browsing. These results add to the understanding of children’s searching and browsing skills and preferences and suggest guidelines for other interface designers."
    (Hilary Browne Hutchinson, Benjamin B Bederson, Allison Druin - University of Maryland)

  • Usability of websites for teenagers
    "When using websites, teenagers have a lower success rate than adults and they're also easily bored. To work for teens, websites must be simple--but not childish--and supply plenty of interactive features."
    (Jakob Nielsen - Alertbox)

  • Usability testing with children
    "Usability testing with children is similar in many respects to usability testing with adults. In order to get the most out of the sessions, and ensure the child is comfortable and happy, there are a few differences that you need to be aware of."
    (Tim Fidgeon - Web Credible)

Research articles

  • Evaluating the usability of educational websites for children
    "This study examined the usability of educational websites for children. Children ages 7 - 11 performed seven search tasks with one of three websites. Overall, participants, especially those less than 10 years of age were not very successful. Terminology, number and organization of links, location of information above the fold, and length of individual pages all influenced performance on the tasks."
    (Shiva Naidu - SURL)

  • Kids' corner: website usability for children
    "Our usability study of kids found that they are as easily stumped by confusing websites as adults. Unlike adults, however, kids tend to view ads as content, and click accordingly. They also like colorful designs, but demand simple text and navigation."
    (Jakob Nielsen - Alertbox)

  • Studying the usability of a website focused on children (PDF)
    When you design an interactive application, you must take into account the special needs of children. Usability and accessibility are two important factors to consider in this sector of the population, even more so when you are designing for children from only 3 years old. This paper explains the adaptations that must be introduced in the evaluation methods applied to children, what difficulties appear when you make these evaluations with this kind of user and what type of evaluation methods are the most recommended for the three age groups studied.

  • When kids use the web
    This paper reports the results of scavenger-hunt usability tests conducted with 16 adolescent children (8 males and 8 females) in two age groups (12 years old and 16 years old), using two general-interest topical websites. The tests yield comparison data regarding both search performance and self-reported subjective preferences. The sole independent variable affecting search performance was the age of the subject, from which the authors conclude that children's domain knowledge may be a key component of their ability to retrieve information successfully from web-based systems. Subjective preferences of children are systematically compared to previously reported preference data for adults who tested the same topical websites. Based on these data, as well as on insights based on subjects' verbal protocols, conclusions regarding both commonalities and differences in web usability requirements between adults and children are suggested.