Updated report published May 2021
For today’s young people, who are under the age of 18, technology has always been a part of daily life. Designing digital products for young people presents many complex challenges, and policymakers around the world are increasingly advocating for stronger requirements when it comes to these products and services used by young people.
Further progress on these complex challenges requires collaboration. Since 2018 at global co-design workshops, we've explored innovative ways to design age-appropriate experiences for privacy and safety across digital services.
This report is one part of a bigger conversation across society and industry about how to approach safety and privacy when designing digital products for young people.
Designing for young people presents many complex challenges, including raising questions around how to build autonomy and confidence for young people (and their adult guardians including older siblings or grandparents) in using digital products that are safe, privacy-protective, and appropriate. These challenges demand solutions that reflect an understanding of young people’s unique needs, preferences, and vulnerabilities.
The content of this report is helpful for both policymakers, who are developing guidelines and requirements at the government level, and product makers, who are building and evolving apps and websites.
The prototype examples you’ll see were co-created by multidisciiplinary expert teams at Design Jams held between February 2018 to September 2019. TTC Labs synthesized the prototypes into case studies and further analyzed the patterns and conversations that kept coming up across teams into principles as well as a checklist of design considerations. Between June and October 2020, the Labs collected feedback on the first version of this report through a series of seven virtual global roundtables.
We’ve incorporated changes into the second version of this report (download below), with a wider range of personas, updated principles and insights. This report is a living document. Please share your feedback to info@ttclabs.net.
The report is accompanied by a visual explainer that highlights the journey of the Labs so far around design for young people, unpacking some of the human-centred insights and design concepts.
We launched the v2 of the report in May 2021 at the TTC Labs Summit on Design for Youth, where we explored how organizations might focus on young people’s needs when designing digital policies and products.
TTC Labs will continue to co-create future-facing industry best practices on age appropriate design.
