Researcher(s)
- Kelsey Clauss, Visual Communications, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Ashley Pigford, Visual Communications / Art + Design, University of Delaware
Abstract
Children’s books are often viewed as a source of entertainment, but they also serve as powerful tools for supporting early cognitive development and literacy. One fundamental skill they can help to develop is sequence recognition, the ability to understand the order of events within a story, which is essential for reading comprehension. While illustrations are frequently appreciated for their creativity, they also shape how children process information, retain knowledge, and make sense of visual narratives. This project explores how illustrators can implement more intentional illustration and design methods to strengthen sequence recognition in early childhood.
My primary research question asks: How can intentional children’s book illustration and design strategies support sequence recognition in early childhood? To investigate this question, I examined research on early childhood education, visual literacy, and children’s understanding of sequential events through scholarly literature, analyses of the most successful picture books, and an interview with University of Delaware alumna and professional children’s book illustrator Sara Scholl. Across these sources I found several recurring design principals, including bold color palettes, repetition, simple compositions, and consistent character placement. Together, these strategies I found were the most effective tools to strengthen children’s memory, comprehension and understanding sequential events.
Guided by these findings, I designed original illustrations that intentionally incorporate these evidence-based design strategies. Rather than making visual decisions based solely on aesthetics, every composition and visual decision was informed by my research to reinforce children’s understanding of narrative progression and sequence recognition. By translating research into creative practice, the completed project demonstrates how purposeful illustration can better support early cognitive development and provides a research-informed framework for illustrators and designers to create children’s books that are both visually engaging but also developmentally meaningful.