Free playing experiments: the user as a participant of the design process

Abstract

This article is intended to observe aspects related to the interaction of children from ages four to five, with each other and with their environment, by means of practical experiments in order to optimize the obtained data and generate observations on their participation in the process of designing spaces intended for children's play. Starting with a brief historical and theoretical contextualization related to the act of design, and addressing this as a linguistic and interpretative act, examples are presented that serve, in the end, as a reference to the practical application of the experiments performed by the authors during the research. These dynamics were established by way of dialog and observation of children, and they permit an understanding of concepts derived from a collaborative research activity between the user, designer and the space. Based on these analyses, it was concluded that the process of designing spaces related to play needs to be rethought and improved by considering the participation of the users or actors involved, and the implementation of strategies for conversation and interaction with children.