“Bonded design”: A novel approach to intergenerational information technology design

Based upon research involving two intergenerational teams comprising elementary school students and adults, whose task was to design a Web portal interface for young users, the authors present a new model for designing new technologies, “bonded design.” This model emphasizes an intergenerational partnership working towards a common goal; in this it shares similarities with the cooperative inquiry design model and its conviction that children should play an active role in the design of new technologies for their peers. At the same time, in common with the informant design model, it questions the extent to which equality can exist within an intergenerational team. Bonded design, essentially, is situated between these other two design models, sharing the former's belief in the ability of children to work as partners in all aspects of the design process, but the latter's reservations about the extent to which full and equal cooperation can be established across the generational divide.