The LEGO Group joins UNICEF in launching design toolbox to empower digital games industry to champion children’s well-being in digital play

• Children’s needs and voices have historically been overlooked in the online world, despite technology playing a growing role in their formative years.
• Research led by UNICEF with over 750 children around the world demonstrates that digital play can provide positive and measurable contributions to children’s well-being.
• New design toolbox offers free comprehensive resources and practical information for the gaming industry on how to design digital play experiences with children’s well-being in mind.
• Toolbox was created through the Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) project co-founded by UNICEF and the LEGO Group and funded by the LEGO Foundation.

BILLUND, Denmark, November 19, 2024: The LEGO Group today joined UNICEF to launch a new toolbox which will support game designers to embrace children’s well-being in their work whilst also responding to parents and caregivers’ concerns about their children's digital gaming. The Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) Design Toolbox is a powerful new resource dedicated to fostering the well-being of children engaging in digital play and ensuring safe and enriching digital experiences for them.

The online world is an area in which children’s needs and voices have historically been absent, despite the increasing presence of technology in children’s formative years – from how they play and learn, access information, build friendships and more. The LEGO Group and UNICEF recognize the importance of designing digital games to be playful and enhance children's well-being. With the launch of the RITEC Design Toolbox, the LEGO Group and UNICEF are calling on businesses and game developers to put children at the centre of digital design.

Anna Rafferty, Senior Vice President of Digital Consumer Engagement, the LEGO Group said: “While the online world offers endless possibilities for children, we understand that it can also raise concerns for parents. In an era where children are increasingly engaging with digital technologies, the need for robust guidelines to protect their well-being has never been more important. We know that the digital games industry is grappling with the challenges of understanding how best to design digital technology so that it foster’s children’s well-being. We remain committed to creating safe and enriching digital environments for children and so are pleased that the RITEC Design Toolbox is freely available to everyone. We’re calling on gaming companies and businesses to make this a priority when creating digital play experiences.”

The RITEC Design Toolbox
The RITEC Design Toolbox has been developed based on the findings from extensive research led by UNICEF Innocenti - Global Office of Research and Foresight, involving five research institutions and over 750 children globally.

Available here to all game developers, designers and businesses, it is a set of free resources developed by UNICEF with practical advice and information for the gaming industry. It was co-created with digital gaming design teams from around the world and expands on game design features and examples from apps and games identified during the RITEC research. The toolbox is now available for use by design professions including product, visual, UX and research as well as Trust and Safety professionals supporting the design process of online games.

The free resources provide practical tools including:

• An interactive card deck of game-design features that can help promote well-being in digital play.
• Printable posters for the home/office displaying the framework and visual examples of the guidance.
• Quotes and examples from children captured during play experiences.
• A shared vocabulary for game designers to discuss both children’s needs and desires for well-being, as well as online gaming features to promote it.
• A summary for executives highlighting the business case of designing for well-being.
• Design guidelines to ensure that factors important for fostering well-being such as autonomy; competence; emotional regulation; relationships; creativity; identities; diversity, equity & inclusion and safety & security will be an outcome of digital play (as identified by the RITEC 8 framework).

Ida Hyllested, UNICEF Senior Advisor on Child Rights and Business said: “The research led by UNICEF shows that digital play experiences can support children’s well-being, if they are designed right. The RITEC Design Toolbox can make it easier for game designers to implement the findings of this research into their work and to design digital play experiences to support children’s well-being.”

Corinne Brenner, Director of Learning at Killer Snails and who was involved in the RITEC research project said: “While children will definitely benefit from designers and creatives integrating this toolkit into their work, I hope the RITEC-8 work also demonstrates the positive features of digital play to parents, teachers, and adults on the fence. Digital play can be hugely beneficial to children when experiences are well-designed.”

Extensive research in digital play experiences

Earlier this year, UNICEF and the LEGO Group, in collaboration with other partners, unveiled the results of a three-year study by UNICEF which revealed that digital play experiences can contribute to and support the well-being of children if designed well.

The research identified eight child-centric well-being outcomes, including autonomy, creativity, safety & security, and more. Designing for well-being is about allowing children to experience a sense of control, have freedom of choice and experience mastery and feelings of achievement. If designed well, games can also help children to regulate their emotions, feel connected to others, and find joy in creating and exploring as well as acting on new ideas. These types of experiences are vital for children’s well-being and can even support their development.

This research was produced as part the RITEC project, an international collaboration between organisations that believe the design and development of digital technology should support the rights and well-being of children. The project was co-founded by UNICEF and the LEGO Group and is funded by the LEGO Foundation. The research was produced in partnership with Western Sydney University, the University of Sheffield, New York University, City University New York and the Queensland University of Technology.