Home is where the heart is

Travelling children is the topic of my work. Children who commute between more than one home. Society is rapidly changing and so is the concept â familyâ . The nuclear family is no longer the most common one. Children are now travelling more frequently than ever. One fifth of the Swedish population are children, they are away from home approximately ten hours per day, and for many of them commuting is part of their everyday life. Typical questions I have asked myself during this project are: How do children find travelling by themselves, and what makes one feel safe in this big world? What do these children take with them, and how do they carry their luggage? By working with these questions I have developed a product for these lone travellers. This is supposed to work as a substitute companion during the journey, and to help break monotony. To achieve this, a suitable collection of things have been put together in a bag on wheels, easy for the child to manoeuvre. The contents of the bag are put together in an attempt to meet different needs the child might have during the journey. The idea was born during a project in collaboration with The BorÃ¥s Museum of Art. This project went under the nameâ the designed childâ . Design students were invited to visualise the concept of design and children. Thoughts about what I had lacked as a child triggered my imagination. Different concepts like tweenies and kidaults, made me think about which part children play in society today, and about how they are regarded as consumers by manufacturers of producers for children. A research trip to India, gave me a chance to study the environmental aspects of the textile industry today. This together with earlier knowledge led to a product which is to be made from alternative materials. Research concerning the product market today, both environmentally friendly materials and products for children, took place at the very beginning of the project, and continued throughout the period. Thoughts about how products for children look today led to an ambition of creating a product as neutral, gender wise, as possible. A great deal of thought was put into the selecting of colours and patterns. The character of a bird was chosen as a symbol for the travelling child. Observations of children and their behaviour whilst travelling were carried out, and used for developing the product. To travel alone means to be alert and to be aware of danger. In this world of fear I would like to emphasize joyfulness and play. I wish to communicate that home is where the heart is.Program: TextildesignutbildningenUppsatsnivå: C