“I feel like if you’re too structured you can’t be creative, because you’re in a little bubble.”
TPP45S Of the forty-five visuals you created, which is your favorite? Why?
MONIQUE SMIT The little Sonic the Hedgehog from the Sonic the Hedgehog Movie mostly because my son drew that specific one. But I also like how the symbol’s shape forms a picture.
TPP45S The symbols in your project The Meaning Behind Kids’ Scribbles, represent the scribbles an elementary school class drew and then named. What’s the difference between adults’ and children’s scribbles?
MONIQUE SMIT A child sees a picture in the scribbles. We scribble to create a picture.
TPP45S The Meaning Behind Kids’ Scribbles asks its audience to find meaning in pictures that initially seem to be nothing but unorganized lines. What do you think people, not just designers, can learn from striving to make meaning out of what, at first, looks meaningless?
MONIQUE SMIT I think we as designers can learn from looking for meaning. Because when we create a piece we might think, “Oh, no, it’s nothing.” But don’t just scrap that idea. If you look at it a bit deeper, you’ll maybe see it differently.
TPP45S You mentioned your project was informed by fortuitous realism. Can you elaborate on this concept and why it is an important part of this work?
MONIQUE SMIT I found out about fortuitous realism during the research I did on this project—I wanted to go deeper because I was like, “Oh, but why does this happen? Why do kids see something in their scribbles?” Like I explained a bit earlier, fortuitous realism is how younger children normally draw something and then they see meaning, but as they grow older, they think of drawing realistic shapes, rather than just scribbles. The older they get, the more realistic they start to draw. It’s because of their brain development.
TPP45S Do you feel like children’s art loses something when they start to make it more realistic?
MONIQUE SMIT Maybe. When they get older, then you know what it [the drawing] is. There’s no guessing anymore. I like the scribbles, they are more interesting, because they are all sort of the same—they are all made of lines. But for the kids they look different from each other. What I was going for with this whole project [and what you have to do when looking at scribbles] is to find something—find meaning—behind nothing.
TPP45S Do you think maybe looking at children’s art might encourage people to take a less structured approach to design?
MONIQUE SMIT I’m very structured in my design. I feel like things need to be a certain way. So when I did this project, I was like [after seeing the kids’ scribbles] oh my word—no. I thought I needed to change them and make them perfect. But then I realized, no, no I needed to let them be. So this project definitely made me not be so perfect and a bit more creative. I feel like if you’re too structured you can’t be creative, because you’re in a little bubble.
TPP45S What do you believe are the biggest challenges of this upcoming generation of visual artists/designers?
MONIQUE SMIT Doubting yourself—because there are so many designs out there already, right? You need to focus on what you want to design. Trusting in who you are as a designer is important as well.
TPP45S The humans who created the Phaistos Disc—if it’s not a hoax—will never be able to tell us what its forty-five symbols mean. But you are here with us today, to talk about your own set of forty-five symbols. What is it that you hope people take away from your project?
MONIQUE SMIT Basically, I want adults to interact with their kids more from a young age. Because as parents, if our kids show us something we don’t find interesting, we’re likely to go, “Oh, no, no, I see. I’m busy right now,” and push them away. We don’t really take that time to sit with them. You need to interact with them [kids] because when they get older they are more likely to interact with you and ask you questions instead of Google.
And I think scribbling is a very important part of that. Especially our reaction to our kids’ scribbling, it really affects them. So I would like to encourage parents—even if it is a little thing like scribbling—to take time and try and figure out what is in their children’s heads—even if they are only three years old.
MONIQUE SMIT
Monique Smit is a first-year student and mom of two completing a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design at Greenside Design Center in Cape Town, South Africa. Smit has a special interest in UX design because of its emphasis on detail, and also enjoys creating one line illustrations. While she has traditionally been a perfectionist when it comes to design,The Meaning Behind Kids’ Scribbles has taught her that sometimes, imperfect pieces are the ones that turn into the greatest artworks.
The Meaning Behind Kids Scribbles
Special Mention Open Call 22/23
