Evaluating the impact of design affordances in preschool children's toy preferences

Balzan, E. and Farrugia, P. and Casha, O. and Wodehouse, A.; (2018) Evaluating the impact of design affordances in preschool children's toy preferences. In: Proceedings of the DESIGN 2018 15th International Design Conference. University of Zagreb, HRV, pp. 2165-2176. ISBN 9789537738594 (https://doi.org/10.21278/idc.2018.0155)

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Abstract

The role of toys in early childhood intervention is crucial for children to acquire and improve their skills. A study with preschool children has been carried out in order to establish, from a product design perspective, how toys' innate characteristics trigger toy preferences. It was found that children's preference is presided by the play value that is perceived. By exploiting hedonic and pragmatic qualities, designers can embed persuasive qualities in toys. A framework for toy design is proposed as a model for a computer-aided support tool that helps toy designers reach their design goal.