Humans like to draw, they always have, and always will. Growing up in Italy, as a young child, that’s all I ever did. My weapon of choice? Chunky washable marker pens. The feeling of dragging a thick-nibbed coloured marker on a blank piece of paper to bring fantastic ideas, stories and creatures to life, is a deeply satisfying one. We learn this as young children, and while some of us forget that feeling along the way, it’s one we still enjoy as grown-ups.
Coming home with colour-speckled fingertips normally meant a good day at big school, opening and closing my chunky instruments of creativity. Running out the door, clutching my daily creation, fanning it with pride in front of mum’s face: “Look what I did today!” Watching my own son’s routine reminds me of mine, and helps reinforce what I’ve never stopped believing. Humans like to draw, they always have, and always will.
Creative arts for kids haven’t changed, but the means to engage with them have. Technology today represents an infinitely powerful tool for creative expression, and that’s where Cubetto is headed. We’re on the verge of a new product release. One that will take your children where computer programming meets art and creativity. One that will let them create their first pieces of computer graphics, away from screens.
“And It Needs to Say Hello”
Our necessity for visual communication is undeniable. From the earliest cave paintings in Indonesia, to Steve Jobs’ computer that famously read “Hello” off a screen in 1984, visual communication has always been a function of design. A transmission code for ideas, ideals, warnings, greetings, feelings. A circle is a sun. A square is a box. A triangle is a mountain. A combination of them becomes a car, a vehicle, freedom. A house, a home, happiness.
Today we are all unwitting creators of visual communication, whether we like it or not. From the pictures we snap and post on social channels, to the design of a CV. We’re all still just drawing, and communicating. In 1974 the Italian artist and designer Bruno Munari advocated for a design-led kindergarten system where the tenets of creative arts for kids could be applied to teaching design as a logical project development process. We embrace this notion.
We’re taking Cubetto to a whole new level by adding a layer of colour, inventiveness and artistic expression
When we solve a problem, big or small, we must start by hatching a plan. A process that is facilitated and enhanced by our ability to visually communicate our thinking, especially when working to solve problems as teams. The goal of our new product accomplishes just that. We’re taking the idea of problem solving and planning with Cubetto to a whole new level by adding a layer of colour, inventiveness and artistic expression. Curious? We’ll reveal all in our next post 🙂
