Playing, learning, sleeping and being active - how children grow up is also a question of design. Since the middle of the 19th century, children's lives and experiences have been shaped by furniture, toys, books and everyday objects designed especially for them. These early design objects provide insight into the phenomenon of childhood and the change in its social perception.
Image gallery
Lehnstuhl „seggiolono 4999“, Richard Sapper, Marco Zanuso, 1964, Sammlung Gisela Neuwald, Courtesy Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Foto: Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum (A.Laurenzo)
Gartenstuhl “Trotter“, Roger Martens, 2014/15, Sammlung Gisela Neuwald, Courtesy Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Foto: Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum (A. Laurenzo) © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024
„Spielsitzer“, Kristian Vedel / Torben Ørskov & Co./ ArchitectMade, 1952 und 2008, Sammlung Gisela Neuwald © Kristian Vedel, Foto: Martin Adam, Berlin
In the 20th century, which the Swedish pedagogue Ellen Key proclaimed the "century of the child" in 1900, the planning of rooms and objects for children developed into an independent discipline. Dealing with the topic of childhood has often given modern designers particular freedom and creativity.
From the reform design around 1900 to the Bauhaus and post-war design in East and West to the present day. With its high demands on simplicity, stability and intuitive usability, design for children can be seen as a paradigm for good design.
The exhibition "Design for Children" presents almost 250 examples of furniture, toy, product and graphic design and places them in the time when they were created.
The exhibits include designs by reform designers such as Richard Riemerschmid, August Geigenberger and Clara Möller-Coburg, by Bauhaus artists such as Alma Siedhoff-Buscher and Marcel Breuer, and by international design greats such as Bruno Munari, Libuše Niklová, Luigi Colani and Matali Crasset.
The theme of playgrounds is conveyed through large-format play objects and playground models by the German designer Günter Beltzig, which are being shown for the first time.
A separate area on the subject of children's books presents historical examples and also provides a small pop-up library for browsing, looking at and reading aloud.
The exhibition is aimed at children and adults alike and contains many interactive elements that can be tried out, played with and (test-)sat on.
The exhibition encourages a change of perspective between young and old and invites adult design enthusiasts to look at the material world through the eyes of a child – while offering the youngest visitors a playful approach to design topics.
