Design + Space
Designing for Spatial Cognition in Early Childhood
Industry: Education, Health & Wellness, Children's Entertainment
Team:
Neharika Sidda (Solo)
Role:
Researcher, Designer, Fabricator
Timeline:
January 2021, 1 week
Deliverable(s)
Physical Game Prototype
Overview
Design + Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
Drawing from principles in developmental psychology and design history, this project explores how basic shapes, colors, and structures can encourage concepts like over, under, around, and through.
Research Focus
How can block play be intentionally designed to support spatial cognition in children?
Goals:
Explore how physical forms influence spatial reasoning in children
Translate historical design methods into playful, research-backed learning tools
How can basic block play be designed to support the development of children's spatial concepts (e.g., size, direction, proximity)?
Inspired by a study in Mind, Brain and Education, which links block play to stronger spatial reasoning skills, I set out to create a form of interactive sculpture that could serve as both a playful experience and a cognitive learning tool.
Background
Design in Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
Research Foundations:
Study from Mind, Brain and Education: Block play helps children understand concepts like over, around, through
Key Findings:
Study from Mind, Brain and Education: Block play helps children understand concepts like over, around, through
Inspiration
Design in Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
Design References:
Alma Siedhoff-Buscher: Bauhaus designer known for her innovation of multi-functional furniture and children's toys.
Amedee Ozenfant: Cubist painter known for his still-life paintings of vase forms and founding the Purist art movement.
To ground my work in design precedent, I studied the work of Alma Siedhoff-Buscher, a Bauhaus-trained designer who created modular, colorful block toys for children. Although her work was dismissed by her contemporaries for catering to children, it was deeply rooted in Bauhaus ideals, particularly the principle of function through form, where every color and shape had meaning and purpose.
Her blocks often featured:
Primary colors, known to support cognitive clarity in early childhood
Geometric shapes (cubes, arches, cylinders) that map intuitively to real-world structures
Balance between play and pedagogy, reflecting Bauhaus ideals of unifying art, design, and utility
I adopted these principles in my own prototype: limiting the color palette to red, blue, green, and white, and using simple geometric forms to avoid cognitive overload while promoting creative freedom.
Alma Siedhoff-Buscher, Kleine Schiffbauspiel ("Little ship-building game"). 1923
Amédée Ozenfant's cubist still life paintings were referenced to create the overall composition of my prototype. The compositions of his vases specifically inspired the sculptural form the blocks' final arrangement.
Amédée Ozenfant, Still Life with Bottles. 1922
Methodology
Design in Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
User Research Framing (Implicit):
Developmental psychology insights on play and cognition
Indirect observational design: Designed with user (children) behavior in mind, even without direct user testing
Design Strategy:
Start with user needs: hands-on interaction, balance, tactile feedback
Reduce complexity: use geometric shapes and strong color contrast to increase cognitive clarity
Prototyping
Design in Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
Initial Plan: Carve wooden blocks (abandoned due to feasibility)
Originally envisioned in wood, but due to fabrication constraints, I pivoted to using sponges—lightweight, malleable, and safe for children.
I cut the sponges into modular block forms, reinforced them with cardstock for structural integrity, then painted them with acrylics in red, blue, green, and white.Solution: Fabricated modular block system using sponge and cardstock
Build Process:
Cut sponge shapes into interlocking pieces
Reinforced with cardstock to maintain structure
Painted in Bauhaus-inspired palette (red, blue, green, white)
Adjusted block forms to ensure balance and stackability
Materials & Prototyping
Originally envisioned in wood, but due to fabrication constraints, I pivoted to using sponges—lightweight, malleable, and safe for children.
I cut the sponges into modular block forms, reinforced them with cardstock for structural integrity, then painted them with acrylics in red, blue, green, and white.
Shape Testing
Each block was adjusted to ensure it could stand independently, balance when stacked, and invite rearrangement.
This iterative shaping process ensured the final design supported open-ended play—crucial for spatial exploration.
Build Process:
Cut sponge shapes into interlocking pieces
Reinforced with cardstock to maintain structure
Painted in Bauhaus-inspired palette (red, blue, green, white)
Adjusted block forms to ensure balance and stackability
Build Process:
Cut sponge shapes into interlocking pieces
Reinforced with cardstock to maintain structure
Painted in Bauhaus-inspired palette (red, blue, green, white)
Adjusted block forms to ensure balance and stackability
Design
Design in Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
Colors: Primary palette chosen to align with cognitive development stages and Bauhaus inspiration
Shapes: Simple, abstracted, inspired by both Bauhaus blocks and cubist vase forms
Structure: Built to encourage open-ended play—blocks can be reassembled in multiple configurations
Outcome
Design in Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
5. Outcome
The final piece is a set of vibrant, sculptural blocks that serve as both a visual art object and a developmental tool. It encourages young users to think spatially, experiment physically, and play curiously—interacting with form, balance, and structure in real time.
Reflections
Design in Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
Creative constraint breeds innovation: Using sponges unlocked unexpected possibilities and sped up iteration.
Designing for cognitive development requires intentional simplicity—every detail should support exploration.
This project deepened my understanding of how games and play-based learning can be informed by both design history and cognitive science.
What I Learned:
Designing for play requires balancing creativity with cognitive science
Constraints (e.g., time, materials) can lead to innovative, resourceful design methods
Historical design methods can meaningfully shape user-centered thinking, even in children’s play
What I’d Do Next:
Conduct observational playtests with children
Evaluate which spatial concepts are most clearly reinforced
Explore potential digital translation (e.g., block-based AR game or app)
Next Steps
Conduct observational play sessions with children to evaluate how they interact with the blocks.
Track which spatial concepts arise naturally during play.
Explore how this could be translated into a digital block-based app or AR experience, preserving tactility and open-ended play digitally.
Relevance
Design in Space is a physical play prototype designed to support the development of children's spatial awareness.
Relevance to Games User Research
Spatial Learning in Games: Spatial reasoning is key in many game mechanics—from puzzle-solving to navigation
Physical-to-Digital Translation: Shows understanding of how physical prototypes inform digital design
User-Centered Design: Embeds user psychology into every design choice, even without digital interaction
Relevance to Games User Research
Highlights the intersection of cognitive psychology and game mechanics
Demonstrates how physical prototyping can serve as a precursor to interactive game design
Emphasizes the importance of user empathy and iterative testing—even in early, analog form
© 2025 Neharika Sidda
Made with ♡ in Vancouver, BC