The visual language of children’s popular science books: human-centered design across developmental stages

Abstract

Popular science books for children aged 3–9 not only serve as tools for early science education, but also contribute to the formation of early cognitive experience. Their visual language, therefore, should not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also correspond to children’s perception, attention, and comprehension at different developmental stages. From the perspective of human-centered design, this paper proposes an analytical framework of «cognitive stage–psychological characteristics–design elements» by drawing on developmental psychology and the learning sciences. It discusses age-appropriate design in children’s popular science books from three aspects: book form, materials, and layout. The study argues that the visual language of children’s popular science books is not fixed, but should be adjusted gradually in line with children’s cognitive development. This paper seeks to clarify, at a general level, the relationship between visual language and developmental stages, and to provide a conceptual basis for further research.