Deep Understanding

William Waris & Kansas state univeristy

This ongoing thesis research explores the role of play in early childhood development, with a focus on how well-designed physical toys can support imagination, attention, emotional growth, and parent child connection. Grounded in developmental psychology and design research, the project examines how unstructured, open-ended play contributes to cognitive, social, and emotional learning particularly in contrast to increasingly screen-based and over structured childhood experiences The research draws from theorists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, and Peter Gray to understand how children learn through self directed play.
These insights are informing the development of a new toy system designed to act as a tool for play rather than a prescriptive product. The work is currently evolving from research into product development as part of my Master’s thesis in Industrial Design at Kansas State University.