Designing for kids is a serious business. Gen Alpha, born in 2007 or later, have been using tech their whole lives, from teething on mom’s phone to figuring out that smart TV interface you’ve never quite been able to master. As a result, today’s children require different design patterns than other generations, and it’s much harder for designers because they have to forget many of the patterns they know to relearn how kids interact with screens.

As adults, designers and product owners are filled with adult life experiences, adult technology preferences, and loads of adult bias about what they liked when they were growing up. If you’re ready to take on the challenge, here are a few key things you should be thinking about and retraining yourself on to reduce your bias as you design for this generation.

Recognise Developmental Differences

First, big developmental differences exist in kids just a few years apart. Consider a four-year-old who would need instructions before using an app versus a third grader who can jump right in and figure it out. There are physical differences, too, such as fine motor skills, eyesight, and hand-eye coordination, which affect design affordance. Fine motor development means the difference between being able to hit that button or drag a puzzle piece. Some young children cannot yet read, so relying on words alone in a menu is not always possible. Full-screen menus and horizontal scrolling with images may be ideal for the under-eight crowd. Kids also love colour and need more visual and audio feedback when they do or click something.

Observe How Kids Play

Next, observing how your ideal child plays could make a big difference in terms of your design. Find out if the specific audience you’re targeting prefers to stick to the rules or invent their own. Determine if they genuinely try hard to get a question right or if they intentionally get it wrong just to be silly. Pay attention to the differences in how girls versus boys play, especially if it’s a product to be played by multiple kids at the same time. Differences in play dynamics may exist when two girls are playing versus two boys versus a boy/girl pair.

Embrace Participatory Design

Participatory design is an ideal strategy for designing children’s products. It’s a co-design method that involves craft supplies, paper cutouts, collages, and storyboards, often on the backdrop of an iPad template. While final design solutions are rarely taken directly from children’s ideas, this exercise helps teams empathise with the children they’re designing for.

Consider Ethical Implications

Designers should also take into consideration the ethics of paid add-ons in children’s apps. Children don’t often have a good concept of money and don’t always know when they’re buying things online. They click buttons just to get back into the game and can easily buy things like more lives. One time, when my son was using a pottery app on my phone, he inadvertently ordered a $35 3D printed version of his creation just by pressing a print button. Also, ads that pull children out of the app and take them to the App Store can be a parent’s worst nightmare.

Think About the Whole Experience

As a designer, you’re not just thinking about the child. You’re also thinking about the adult who will have to set up the app, supervise play, or even play alongside the child for support or fun. This is just what we know about Gen Alpha today. They’re growing and learning all the time, adapting and changing how we design.

Conclusion

Designing for Gen Alpha is a unique and evolving challenge. By recognising developmental differences, observing play patterns, embracing participatory design, considering ethical implications, and thinking about the whole experience, designers can create engaging, safe, and effective products for this new generation. As Gen Alpha continues to grow and adapt, so too must our approaches to designing for their needs and expectations.