The master's thesis shows the development of surface pattern designs and modular cardboard furniture for children that invite them to explore their environment and encourage free and creative play. The theoretical part introduces the field of design for children and its principles, the importance of modularity in children's products and the role of colours, shapes and patterns in children's perception of the world and their holistic development. It shows examples of products that are based on the principles of building, modularity and constructive play. It also explores the cardboard furniture design, and its potential in contemporary design for children. In addition, the design heritage of the Bauhaus movement is presented, which is the main creative basis for this work. The focus is on the Bauhaus theories of learning and creating through play, emphasising the so-called »Vorkurs«, or preliminary course. The experimental section presents the development of playful, illustrated characters inspired by Oskar Schlemmer's costumes for the »Triadic Ballet«, embodying the Bauhaus preference for primary colours and geometric shapes. The characters are assembled into repetitive patterns or transformed into other forms of textile and cardboard objects for children's interiors. The second part of the experimental chapter presents the development of modular cardboard construction furniture. It shows methods for assembling modules into abstract and functional forms and integrating other materials into spatial constructions in the fom of improvised or textile modules. These can be inserted and woven into the perforated mesh of the cardboard modules, creating new contrasting surfaces with additional tactile and aesthetic values. The thesis also includes a presentation at the Heimtextil 2024 textile trade fair in Frankfurt.
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