Designing for children is one thing. Designing with them is another.
The Co-Design with Kids Toolkit is a practical, developer-friendly guide to partnering with children throughout the product development process. From early requirements gathering and brainstorming to prototyping and iterative testing, co-design invites kids to move from passive users to active collaborators. The result? Products that are more innovative, more intuitive, and more responsive to how children actually think, play, and learn.
Whether you’re new to co-design or looking to deepen an established practice, this interactive toolkit offers concrete strategies, facilitation tips, and adaptable activities you can put to work right away. Start with our “What Is Co-Design?” page for a brief history and foundational overview—and then explore tools designed to help you build products with kids, not just for them.
The Co-Design with Kids Toolkit was developed by Cooney Center Senior Fellow Mona Leigh Guha, PhD, featuring insights and contributions from experts including Jason Yip, PhD (University of Washington); Jerry Alan Fails, PhD (Boise State University); Beth Bonsignore, PhD (University of Maryland); Greg Walsh, PhD (University of Baltimore); Tamara Clegg, PhD (University of Maryland); Allison Druin, PhD (J.S. Bryant School); Azadeh Jamalian, PhD (The GIANT Room); Aayushi Dangol (University of Washington); Leyla Norooz (Consultant); and Anna Jordan-Douglass, PhD (Makefully).
Visit codesignwithkids.org here
