Kid-Tested, Designer-Dad Approved

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Rob Kimmel
Categories: Design Exercises for Inspired Designers, Design Inspiration: Creative Ideas for Designers, Featured, HOW July 2011, HOW Magazine, Web & Graphic Design Illustration Tags: , , .

Creative Parenting3. Alphabet Chase
This is one of several games we invented while working on beginning reading and writing skills. It’s best done on a large sheet of paper, like 18 by 24 inches, though we’ve done it on everything from index cards to huge sheets cut from rolls of seamless paper.

The setup is simple, but important. Draw an even number of boxes in a rough grid, with arrows pointing between them. The last box in the first row leads to the farthest-right in the second row, and the last in the second row leads back to the first. It’s possible to do longer versions (our favorite is with four rows of four boxes), and the weaving back and forth is easier when drawn by hand. The boxes can vary in size and shape without affecting the game.

The first player draws a picture of something and writes its name in or beside the box. The second player draws a picture in the second box, whose FIRST letter is the same as the LAST letter of the first drawing. The final box is tricky, needing to end with the first letter of the word in the first box, so it is often best to have the kid start the game off, leaving the adult to figure out the final move. The adult can choose subjects with easy names for smaller kids, or mix it up for older ones. For example, a recent Chase went:
PiratE>Escape poD>
DinosauR>RapidS>SnapE>ElephanT>TeenageR>
RoboT>Terror birD>DragoN>NarwaL>LeaP (the last one tying back into “pirate”).

4. Exquisite Corpse
There is probably a more G-rated name for this game, which comes from the Surrealists and is named after a line in an AndrÈ Breton poem. My kid just loves the name, since it conjures images of zombies, and he enjoys the reaction of adults when he cheerfully asks, “Hey, do you want to play Exquisite Corpse?”

It’s simple: A piece of paper is folded into thirds and passed among three people, each drawing a portion of a character. As the head, torso and then legs are added, the body parts remain hidden under the folds from the other players. Two people can play if the paper is divided into quarters, with the arms and upper torso given their own panel.

MORE RESOURCES FOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Pages: 1 2 3 4

About Rob Kimmel

Rob Kimmel runs a design studio in the leafy end of Brooklyn and has taught graphic design at Pratt Institute since 2003. He holds degrees in acting, from the University of Illinois, and graphic design, from Pratt. His studio has worked with a diverse list of clients, from the UNHCR to chef David Bouley, from Japanese corporations to neighborhood toy stores. A Chicago native, Kimmel's pitched a tent from the Olympic Penninsula of Washington to the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. He and his son Ben post their Lunch Posts (almost) daily on the Wander Monster blog.

Related Posts:

2 Responses to Kid-Tested, Designer-Dad Approved

  1. eoe says:
    July 11, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    That is so cool, Rob. My father was ahead of his time I suppose. He used to play a rhythm game with me by tapping out a sequence of beats on my leg and I had to repeat them on his leg, in the correct time, including pauses. We’d keep going until he stumped me. He also made a point to ask me every morning what I’d dreamed the night before. Of course this got me into the habit of remembering my dreams to report them. I still remember my dreams vividly and almost nightly, to this day. Thanks Daddy.

  2. Pingback: WanderMonster » Full text of my How Magazine article online

Leave a Reply