University of Gothenburg

Helga Björg Jónasardóttir is a design student at University of Gothenburg in the Child Culture Design department in Sweden.  Her piece, playbl, was shown in Milan this year in a group show of fellow students.  Playbl, as pictured, is a multifunctional coffee table that fosters the co-existing needs of adults and children at the same time.

The University of Gothenburg offers a masters program in Child Culture Design.  The following excerpt from the university's website details a brief overview of the program:

Imagine a design specialization where the focus is on the perspective of a child: On children’s play, pedagogy, development, culture, health and above all on the tools of play. On the participation and inlfuence of childen and youth on society. Imagine a design specialization that utilizes the great existing bank of knowledge that has been accumulated in Sweden, in such areas as play, health care, education and communication. In the Fall of 2009 this vision became a reality at HDK- School of Design and Crafts, Universtiy of Gothenburg, with the introduction of the Child Culture Design Programme, CCD, a design programme unlike any other.