Co-Design Playbook: Empowering Children as Co-Designers

Meaningful participation of users (especially of younger users) in design processes often fails not due to lack of interest, but lack of practical guidance. To address this gap, I co-led the development of a comprehensive field guide that transforms participatory design principles into actionable activities, comprehensive programs of varying length, and systematic analytical steps for reporting results. As part of Dr. Janet Loebach's DECA Lab at Cornell, we created this versatile toolkit intended to be accessible for educators, design professionals, parents, and community organizers alike.

The playbook proposes flexible programs ranging from 3 to 10 sessions, allowing facilitators to match the depth of engagement to their specific context and resources. Each activity includes clear instructions, material lists, time estimates, and guidance for analyzing the resulting data. Beyond the practical tools, the guide embodies a deeper commitment to children's right to influence their environments and demonstrates how their unique insights can lead to more innovative, responsive designs. The complete guide is freely available for download here.