Made For Us introduces us to various objects that have been designed to help people in their daily lives. It takes a fascinating look at familiar objects that we often use without thinking. But they’ve all been designed to make our lives easier.
Izzy, David and Farah are members of the school design club. They take us through their school day and an evening at home and introduce us to familiar objects that have been designed to help make everyday tasks easier for us all. They also introduce items that have been designed to help us keep in touch with one another – many have been designed to help disabled people live more safely and independently.
It’s really interesting to read about how and why dropped kerbs were invented, the thought processes behind making sure that pelican crossings can be safely used by blind or deaf people and the communication devices that preceded smart phones.
We’re also introduced to the people behind the designs – many of us have heard of Louis Braille who invented braille for blind users but have you heard of John Elias and Wayne Westerman? They developed modern touchscreens which have revolutionised the way that we all communicate.
The illustrations play a big part in conveying information and we love the way that they include speech bubbles. Text boxes and photos are also included so there are no intimidating chunks of text to decipher and footnotes at the bottom of each page give definitions of words used in the main texts.
Made For Us, published by Oxford University Press, is a reading book (level 11). Its use of speech bubbles, text boxes and illustrations supports an early reader whilst introducing an interesting subject in an engaging way. We like the way that it begins by describing ‘universal design’ to set the context and footnotes throughout the book describe more unfamiliar words. At the beginning of the book are words to look out for and there’s a glossary at the end to explain vocabulary used in the book.
Saturday April 27th is International Design Day which encourages designers to reflect on the needs of people in their local areas and find solutions for problems that they may experience – just like the designers in Made For Us.
Age Range: 5+
Author: Polly Owen / Illustrator: Daniel Duncan
Thank you to Polly Owen for sending us a review copy of this fascinating reading book.
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