Not what you’d expect

When you think of design that’s for kids — say kids ages 3-7 — what comes to mind? Primary colors? Large rounded fonts? Sweet smiling faces? I’m not saying that that can never be done well, but what about a children’s design that’s not what you’d expect? That’s a little dark, sometimes scary, definitely modern and maybe even a little off-putting?

My 4 year old daughter loves the book Today is My Day by Anushka Ravishankar (Author), and Piet Grobler (Illustrator). The colors are primary, but not. Orangey yellows, darker reds, dirty blues. The illustrations are mostly black and white, highly ornamented, and a little creepy. The typeface is Futura, modern, with its sharp pointed Ms. And it’s a great book.

It reminds me that sometimes the best design is the design that you didn’t see coming.

Thanks, Aunt Katherine. You give the coolest gifts!