Character Design Co-creation Toolkit for Children

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Project(3:(Co"Creation)Toolkit!
CHARACTER!DESIGN!
Kathryn!Pedersen!&!Dhanha!Lee!|!Hoda!Hamouda!|!SOCS!309!SU02!|!June!23,!2016!
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PAGE!! 1!
Abstract!!
The!purpose!of!this!report!is!to!study!and!analyze!a!co"creation!toolkit!to!aid!designing!a!character!for!a!children’s!
animation!film.!Our!main!question!of!the!project!was:!how!can!we!co"design!the!aesthetics!of!a!royal!character!in!
connection!with!a!historical!film!geared!towards!children!of!ages!8"12?!By!sampling!summer!camp!participants,!4"6!
volunteers!will!go!through!the!co"creation!session!designed!to!take!place!in!two!days.!Our!toolkit!is!meant!to!immerse!
the!participants!with!the!experiment,!activate!their!memories!and!facilitate!in!generating!new!ideas!related!for!desired!
experience.!We!would!use!Path!B,!which!is!a!‘light!analysis!on!the!wall’!to!analyze!our!responses!and!results.!From!pilot!
testing!qualitative!insights!were!obtained.!We!also!plan!to!quantitatively!analyze!results!from!the!actual!toolkit!session.!
Fellow!students!gave!useful!feedback!for!the!pilot!testing!session,!which!allowed!capturing!gaps!in!the!toolkit!and!
altering!some!part!of!it.!!
Keywords!
Co"creation!toolkit;!Co"design!toolkit;!Character!design;!Animation;!Toolkit!for!children!
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Introduction!
Co"creation!(aka!Co"design)!is!a!well"supported!method!of!design!research.!As!we!believe,!along!with!many!other!
designers!practicing!co"creation,!everyone!is!creative!and!that!the!end!user!is!an!expert!of!the!product,!service!or!
experience!they!are!using,!we!plan!to!conduct!a!co"creation!session!for!character!design.!Kathryn,!who!is!an!animator,!is!
working!on!an!ongoing!grad!animated!film!project.!The!characters!she!had!originally!designed!were!previously!critiqued!
for!not!fitting!in!within!the!context!and!genre!of!her!film.!Her!story!involves!fantasy!and!royal!prince!and!princess;!and!
the!film’s!target!audience!is!children.!Thus!she!is!redesigning!her!character!for!her!film.!From!the!co"creation!workshop!
with!young!participants!our!team!hopes!to!gain!valuable!insights!regarding!their!perception!in!royal!characters!from!the!
medieval!era.!!

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!Design!Context!
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The!film!Kathryn!is!working!on!takes!place!during!the!medieval!era!at!the!time!of!The!Plague.!The!King!becomes!fatally!ill;!
therefore!his!only!offspring!breaks!away!from!her/his!sheltered!life,!setting!sail!to!a!magical!island!that!supposedly!holds!
healing!gems.!Unforeseen!complications!arise,!forcing!the!princess/prince!to!look!within!themselves!to!save!their!father.!!
The!extent!of!our!knowledge!regarding!character!design,!majorly!comprises!on!past!experiences,!and!what!we!have!seen!
before.!We!have!been!exposed!to!films!with!similar!genres!and!target!group.!Therefore!we!have!seen!other!people’s!
interpretation!of!character!designs.!We!have!also!studied!history,!so!we!have!a!basic!understanding!of!specific!clothing!and!
garments!people!wore!during!the!medieval!era.!!
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Figure!1!(Left)!Frozen!Concept!Art!(Right)!Sleeping!Beauty!Concept!Art!

PAGE!! 3!
Research!Question!&!Target!Group!
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In!order!to!widen!our!perspective!and!further!gain!understanding!of!our!target!audience!and!their!perceptions!regarding!
royal!characters,!our!team!aims!to!investigate!character!design!and!its!connection!with!a!specific!genre,!in!particular,!the!
medieval!era.!The!main!question!of!our!project!is:!!
How$can$we$co)design$the$aesthetics$of$a$royal$character$in$connection$with$a$historical$film$geared$towards$
children$of$ages$8)12?$
Our!target!participants!are!children!ages!8"12,!including!all!races,!genders,!cultural!backgrounds!and!education!history.!!
User!Sampling!
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Being!students!still!learning!about!design!research,!we!will!be!using!the!opportunistic!sampling!approach!to!sample!
participants.!Kathryn!works!at!a!day!camp!with!kids!ages!8"12,!so!we!will!be!holding!the!workshop!as!an!optional!activity!
during!camp.!We!will!send!out!a!newsletter!with!information!about!the!character!design!co"creation!workshop!to!the!
parents!and!children,!and!if!they!are!interested!they!will!be!invited!to!sign"up!for!the!workshop.!It!will!be!on!a!first!come!
first!serve!basis.!If!more!than!4!participants!had!signed"up,!we!will!present!the!opportunity!for!multiple!workshops.!Once!we!
get!the!child’s!parent/guardian’s!written!consent,!we!will!begin!with!the!study.!!
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Goal!of!Co"creation!Toolkit!&!Analysis!!
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With!the!research!data!and!collected!insight,!we!hope!to!have!an!understanding!of!the!target!audience’s!aesthetics!
preference!in!a!royal!character,!which!can!lead!to!new!ideas!to!redesign!characters.!After!the!workshop,!we!will!have!
responses!from!our!questionnaire,!various!character!design!sketches,!and!paper!dolls.!The!questionnaire!is!majorly!to!
become!familiar!with!each!participant’s!background!knowledge!and!their!preferences,!which!will!give!us!insight!on!their!
inspiration(s)!when!it!comes!to!analyze!their!designs.!For!the!questionnaire,!we!will!organize!all!the!participant’s!results!
with!a!plot!chart!to!have!an!overall!visual!source!of!where!all!the!participant’s!stand!in!relation!to!one!another.!
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For!the!character!designs!and!paper!dolls!results,!we!would!compile!and!organize!them!by!clusters!in!order!to!find!patterns!
upon!the!same!discipline.!For!example,!if!we!observed!a!repeating!pattern!in!the!participant’s!design!ideas!such!as!hat,!we!
would!seriously!consider!adding!it!to!our!final!character!design.!We!will!not!go!into!analyzing!the!designs!with!any!pre"
biasness,!we!will!be!very!open"minded!and!carefully!consider!all!ideas!because!after!the!all,!this!film!is!for!them,!not!us.!!
Knowledge!of!Medieval!History!
Animated!Films!watched!weekly!
Very!little!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!A!little!bit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!A!lot!
0!!!!!!!1"3!movies!!!!3"5!movies!!!!!5+!movies!!!
Chart!1.!Example!of!Relationship!between!‘frequency!of!
watching!animated!films’!and!‘general!knowledge!of!
medieval!history’!
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!Questionnaire!
Before!the!workshop !

PAGE!! 6!
NAME: _______________________________
Please answer the following questions as best as you can. For the multiple choice questions, circle the
best answer. For the short answer questions, write a few words or sentences.
1. What is your nickname?
2. How old are you?
3. What is your favorite color, and what do you own in that color?
4. What is your favorite subject at school?
5. Have you studied Social Studies in school?
a. Yes b. No c. Don’t Know
6. How much do you think you know about the time when princess and prince lived in castles?
a. Very little b. A little bit c. A lot

PAGE!! 7!
7. What is your favorite activity to do in your spare-time?
8. On average, how many animation movies do you watch a week?
a. 0 b. 1-3 movies c. 3-5 movies 4. 5+ movies
9. Who is your favorite cartoon character, and why? (You are welcome to draw them!)

PAGE!! 8!
10. Who is your least favorite cartoon character, and why? (You are welcome to draw them!)
11. Who do you watch your movie with the most?
a. Friends b. Parents c. Siblings d. Others:_____________
12. What are some of your favorite cartoon/animation films?
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PAGE!! 9!
Session!Script:!Co"creation!session!schedule!
Time$ Action$ Checklist$
10!minutes! Introductions! Welcome!participants,!state!goal!and!basic!rules!
10!minutes! Activity!1!
Writing!Synthesis!!
Children!will!write!their!reactions!and/or!a!story!about!two!characters!we!provide!
10!minutes!! Activity!1!
Discussion!
Explain!some!story!ideas!or!feelings!!
Instructions!!
Explain!to!the!participants!the!premise!of!the!film.!With!that!information,!participants!
design!their!own!characters!that!they!think!would!best!be!suited!!
10!minutes!! Activity!2!! !
Discussion!!
What!were!some!of!the!similarities!between!characters!the!participants!drew?!Were!
some!of!them!the!same?!!
10!minutes! Break! !
5!minutes! Activity!3!
Instructions!
Assemble!a!character!using!provided!clothing,!facial!features!and!hairstyles,!that!you!
think!best!fits!the!criteria!of!the!film!
Paper!Doll!Assemblage!!
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10!minutes!! Present!! Explain!your!character!to!the!group!
20!minutes! Discussion!! What!are!your!reactions?!How!are!the!characters!similar!to!one!another?!How!are!they!
different?!!
5!minutes! Closing!comments! Thank!participants!

PAGE!! 10!
The!Toolkit!!
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The!toolkit!was!influenced!by!a!theory!from!Convivial!Toolbox!which!stated!that!we!can!gain!a!greater!insight!of!what!people!
are!thinking!based!on!what!they!say,!do,!and!make.!For!our!toolkit,!we!incorporated!two!say!activities,!one!do!activity,!and!
two!make!activities.!
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Say$
" Questionnaire!
" Activity!#1:!Write!
your!own!story!!
Do$
" Movie!Night!!
Make$
" Activity!#2:!Draw!your!
own!character!!
" Activity!#3:!Dress!your!
paper!doll!character!!

PAGE!! 11!
Path!to!Expression!!
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The!“Path!to!Expression”!diagram!also!shown!in!Convivial!Toolbox,!helps!us!access!and!analyze!the!information!and!data!we!
collect!during!the!c0"creation!session.!!
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4!3!
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2!
1. Immerse(participants(with(
the(experiment((
• Movie!Night!
• Questionnaire!!
• Activity!1.!Write!your!own!story!!
2. Activate(their(memories(
• Activity!2.!Draw!your!own!
character!!
• Questionnaire!!
3. Dream(of(future(possibilities((
4. Facilitate(the(generation(of(
new(ideas(related(for(desired(
experience((
• Activity!2.!Draw!your!own!
character!!
• Activity!3.!Dress!your!paper!doll!
character!!
Figure!2.!Path!of!Expression!Diagram!

PAGE!! 12!
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The!co"creation!session!will!be!completed!in!two!steps.!!
Step!1:!Movie!Night!&!Questionnaire!
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One!week!prior!to!the!workshop,!we!will!organize!a!time!
for!the!facilitators!and!fellow!participants!to!get!to!know!
each!other!better.!This!will!allow!participants!to!be!more!
comfortable!and!engaged!during!the!next!meeting–co"
creation!workshop.!All!participants!will!be!invited!to!a!!
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movie!night!at!day!camp!center!to!watch!clips!of!different!
animation!films!such!as!Disney!Animation!Robin!Hood.!
We!will!also!show!a!short!clip!of!how!animation!films!are!
made.!This!will!encourage!participants!to!be!excited!and!
look!forward!to!what!they!will!be!contributing!at!the!next!
meeting.!Participants!will!be!encouraged!to!come!in!with!
their!family!and!friends.!As!a!group,!facilitators!and!
participants!will!introduce!themselves!and!casually!have!
snacks!and!watch!the!movie!together. !
After!the!screening,!we!will!be!handing!out!the!instruction!
booklet,!and!the!questionnaire!intended!to!be!brought!
back!completed!at!the!workshop.!!
The!questionnaire!falls!under!the!‘say’!technique,!and!is!
proposed!to!gain!insight!with!the!participant’s!preferences,!
experience!and!background!with!animated!films!and!
medieval!history.!This!information!will!be!helpful!when!it!
comes!time!to!analyze!the!workshop!activity!results.!With!
the!questionnaire,!we!have!paid!close!attention!to!the!
wording!of!the!questions,!targeting!a!younger!audience,!
avoiding!slang!and!language!that!could!potentially!be!
persuasive.!
Say!Do!

Step!2:!Co"creation!Toolkit!Activities!
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Activity$1:$Write(you(own(story!(
<Say>!Path!of!Expression!#1!
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The!first!activity!of!the!official!co"creation!workshop!
incorporates!sensitizing!writing,!which!allows!participants!
to!be!sensitive!to!their!mindsets!and!mood.!We!will!show!
participants!images!of!two!different!characters,!of!which!
they!will!choose!one!and!free!write!for!10!minutes.!We!will!
also!provide!a!brief!prompt!to!give!them!a!starting!point.!
They!may!write!a!short!story!about!a!character.!This!
activity!is!a!part!of!the!‘say’!technique,!and!immerses!them!
with!the!experiment.!The!purpose!of!this!activity!is!to!put!
the!children!in!the!same!mindset,!and!to!give!us!some!
insights!on!their!existing!perceptions.!!
Say!

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Activity$2:$Draw(your(own(Character!(
<Make>!Path!of!Expression!#2&4
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At!this!point!in!the!workshop,!we!will!explain!the!premise!
of!the!film!to!give!the!participants!context!of!what!they!are!
designing.!With!that!knowledge,!they!will!then!design!and!
draw!their!own!characters!that!they!think!suits!the!film.!
There!are!no!rules!for!this!activity,!participants!may!focus!
on!only!clothing!or!hairstyles,!or!they!could!design!the!
character!as!a!whole.!The!hope!for!this!activity!is!to!have!
the!children!be!creative,!and!engage!with!their!
imagination!and!find!influence!of!other!characters!they!
have!been!exposed!to!in!the!past.!Regarding!to!the!‘Path!of!
Expression’,!this!activity!activates!their!memories,!and!
facilitates!in!the!generation!of!possible!new!ideas.!The!
toolkit!for!this!activity!will!contain!multiple!sheets!of!
paper,!a!box!of!crayons!and!felt!tip!pens.!!
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Make!!

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Activity$3:$Dress(your(Paper(Dolls(Character!((
<Make>!Path!of!Expression!#4!
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The!final!activity!requires!the!children!to!participate!in!an!
interactive!workshop.!In!our!toolkit,!we!have!paper!
cutouts!of!dolls!of!different!ethnicities!and!genders,!and!a!
wide!variety!of!clothing!styles!and!colors.!The!children!can!
then!assemble!the!dolls!that!they!feel!best!fits!the!film.!
This!activity!is!more!structured!than!activity!2,!and!is!
more!intended!to!investigate!how!the!participants!
envision!the!character!based!on!predetermined!aesthetics.!
This!activity!immerses!them!with!our!current!experience,!
and!provides!us!with!the!possibility!for!new!design!ideas.!
This!activity!need!sissors,!paper!dolls!and!theie!outfits!and!
glue.!!
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Make!!

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Co"Creation!Toolkit!!!!
Instructions!
for Character Design

PAGE!! 1!
What%is%Co"creation?!
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Co"Creation!is!a!tool!used!by!designers!to!better!understand!the!people!they!are!designing!for.!The!users!
join!to!give!new!ideas!and!make!something!new.!This!way,!designers!can!make!something!that!the!user!
really!wants!or!needs.!!
What%is%our%goal?%!
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!Through!this!Co"Creation!session,!our!goal!
is!to!get!an!inside!look!on!what!you!would!
like!to!see!in!a!character!for!the!animation!
film.!!
We!are!interested!in!learning!which!
characters!you!like!the!most,!but!also!which!
characters!you!may!not!like.!We!would!also!
introduce!new!characters,!to!see!what!you!
think!of!it!and!observe!and!record!your!
responses.!!

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Step!One!
Before!the!workshop!!

PAGE!! 3!
Questionnaire!!!!!!z!
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Please!answer!the!questions!on!the!questionnaire!to!the!best!of!your!ability.!Seal!the!completed!
questionnaire!in!the!envelope!provided!and!bring!it!with!you!to!the!workshop.!!
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Say!

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Step!Two!
Co"creation!Session!Workshop!
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Step!two!will!take!place!one!week!after!the!movie!night!once!we!have!received!your!consent!forms!signed!
by!your!parents.!It!will!take!place!at!Little$Mountain$Day$Camp,!which!you!are!already!familiar!with!!!

PAGE!! 5!
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Activity!1:!Write!your!own!Story!!
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This!first!activity!involves!a!writing!exercise!!We!will!show!you!images!of!two!different!
characters!of!which!you!can!choose!one,!and!free!write!for!10!minutes.!You!may!write$a$
short$story!about!the!character!following!the!given!prompt.!!
After!10!minutes,!we!will!have!an!open!discussion!about!some!of!your!ideas!and!reactions.!!
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Activity!2:!Draw!your!own!Character!!
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For!this!activity,!you!will!be!given!complete!creative!control!!Using!the!paper,!crayons!and!
felt!pens!provided,!draw$your$own$character!that!you!think!would!best!fit!the!film!(which!
we!will!explain!in!the!workshop).!There!are!no!rules!!Draw!as!much!as!you!would!like!for!20!
minutes.!
After!20!minutes,!we!will!go!around!the!room!and!you!can!share!your!character(s).!!
Say!
Make!!

PAGE!! 6!
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Activity!3:!Dress!your!Paper!Doll!Character!!!!!!!!
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With!this!last!activity,!you!will!assemble$dolls$from$the$paper$cut$outs!we!have!provided.!
You!will!be!able!to!choose!which!gender,!skin!color,!accessories!and!clothing,!to!dress!a!doll!
that!you!think!will!be!the!best!fits!for!the!film.!There!are!no!right!or!wrong!ways!to!do!this,!
have!fun!with!it!!
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Make!!

PAGE!! 7!
All!Finished!!!
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Congratulations,!you!have!completed!the!workshop!!Thank!you!very!much!for!participating!
in!our!co"creation!session.!Your!privacy!will!be!protected,!if!you!have!any!questions!or!
concerns,!please!feel!free!to!contact!us.!!
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Design!Rationale:!Why!was!this!toolkit!put!together!the!way!it!was?!
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The!toolkit!was!put!together!with!concepts!from!Convivial!Toolbox!in!mind,!which!we!explained!earlier!in!this!report.!We!
thought!with!the!combination!of!using!all!three!techniques!(say,!do,!make)!we!would!get!the!most!ideal!results.!We!placed!a!
bigger!emphasis!on!the!make!technique!in!order!for!the!workshop!to!be!more!interactive,!and!to!also!get!more!useful!results.!
We!used!craft!ingredients!that!participating!children!can!be!engaged!and!use!with!familiarity.!!
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Process!!
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The!process!of!our!toolkit!was!generally!pretty!simple.!Our!team!brainstormed!different!activities!that!fit!the!criteria!of!the!
Path!to!Expression,!and!the!three!techniques!from!Convivial!Toolbox.!We!settled!on!Activity!1!(Synthesizing)!and!Activity!3!
(Paper!Dolls)!relatively!quickly,!but!Activity!2!was!a!bit!more!of!a!challenge.!Our!original!idea!was!to!create!our!own!version!
of!Pictionary,!of!which!our!participants!would!draw!their!favorite!or!least!favorite!characters,!and!the!other!participants!
would!have!to!guess!who!they!are!drawing.!After!a!critique,!our!feedback!was!that!this!particular!activity!would!lend!itself!to!
a!‘say’!technique,!when!our!aim!was!to!have!another!‘make’!technique.!We!went!back!to!the!drawing!board,!and!tried!to!
think!of!make!activities!that!would!yield!useful!outcomes.!We!decided!that!having!the!children!actually!design!and!draw!
their!own!character!would!be!the!most!effective!considering!it!directly!correlates!with!our!research!question.!! !

PAGE!! 9!
Initial!Response!from!Mock"Pilot!Testing!
The!pilot!testing!was!extremely!helpful,!and!we!were!able!to!get!some!very!valuable!feedback!and!insights.!
Observation$from$Co)creation$session:$
• Pilot!testing!participants!were!focused!most!on!he!character’s!hair!style!
• They!drew!main!character!to!be!human!with!a!non"human!companion!
• All!pilot!testing!participants!were!engaged!and!creative!
• Our!activities!welcomed!pilot!testing!participants!to!be!engaged!
• Each!person’s!style!of!drawing!and!writing!was!very!different!
• Activity!2,!which!is!free!drawing,!and!Activity!3,!which!is!dressing!a!paper!doll!with!given!outfits,!was!a!good!balance!
between!letting!the!participants!be!free!and!yet!some!structure.!!
Feedback$from$Pilot$testing$participants:$
• Alter!some!of!the!wording!in!the!questionnaire!
! Some!vocabulary!such!as!‘medieval!period’!is!not!suitable!for!the!younger!participants!because!most!of!them!would!
not!understand.!!
• Adding!a!brief!story!prompt!to!Activity!1!for!each!character!
! It!might!be!intimidating!for!younger!participants!to!be!asked!to!free!write!without!any!instructions!or!prompt,!
because!they!might!not!know!where!to!start.!It!is!good!to!give!them!a!starting!point!to!generate!creative!thoughts!and!
ideas.!
• Instead!of!explaining!the!film’s!plot,!describe!a!particular!scene!in!the!film!including!descriptive!environmental!
details!(before!Activity!2)!
! It!is!better!to!ground!the!participants!with!specific!environment!or!setting!rather!than!giving!away!the!whole!plot.!
• Instead!of!the!paper!tabs,!use!glue!to!attach!the!clothing/accessories!to!paper!dolls!in!Activity!3!
! This!method!will!be!easier!for!younger!participants!to!practice.!!
• Have!Activity!3!as!a!collaborative!activity!!
! Pilot!test!participants!were!more!engaged!and!excited!to!work!in!a!small!group!of!3.!!

PAGE!! 10!
!!
!! !! !
Overall,!the!participants!appeared!to!enjoy!themselves,!and!were!very!engaged!in!each!activity.!As!a!facilitator,!it!was!
really!interesting!to!see!everyone’s!unique!creative!styles!and!their!rationale!behind!their!stories!and!designs.!!
!
Conclusion!
!
The!purpose!of!this!project!is!to!obtain!insight!of!children’s!knowledge!regarding!royal!medieval!historical!context!and!their!
preferences!for!characters.!It!is!to!support!Kathryn’s!ongoing!grad!film!project.!By!using!the!‘say’!and!‘make’!research!
methods!along!with!each!steps!of!‘Path!to!Expression’!we!designed!a!co"creation!toolkit!for!children!participants.!We!can!
mostly!gain!qualitative!data!of!children’s!knowledge!and!taste;!also!by!graphing!and!charting!available!data!such!as!answers!
from!the!questionnaires!we!can!gain!quantitative!results.!Pilot!testing!session!was!very!useful!to!edit!our!questionnaires!and!
toolkit!thus!it!is!more!gear!towards!the!younger!participants!from!age!8"12.!For!instance,!some!wordings!in!the!
questionnaire!were!not!suitable!for!younger!audiences.!Launching!from!this!report,!Kathryn!and!her!team!can!conduct!an!
actual!co"creation!session.!!
!

Character Design Co-creation Toolkit for Children

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Character Design Co-creation Toolkit for Children