Asked by Kids is a global hub of arts-based educational children’s resources that are free, bilingual, and open source. Our goal is to make information more digestible for kids globally by co-creating resources built from children’s questions and ideas. Through a coloring book or interactive workshop, our work spans multiple focus areas, from Covid-19, democratic processes, participatory budgeting and supply chains to children’s rights, peaceful protesting, and mindfulness practices. Our research direction is grounded in participatory design methodologies, as we believe that giving children a seat at the design table creates the most accessible resources for children. Within our design practice, as illustrators and aspiring children’s book authors, we have seen time and time again how children’s resources are being built without any input from children. We see this as a flawed design process as it excludes and devalues children’s knowledge, which we aim to center from beginning to end. We would like to thank our amazing partners: Artists Striving to End Poverty, Center for the Future of Arizona, Equity for Children, and Tinkuy Marca Academy. Thanks to these organizations, we are able to ensure that our resources and workshops reach children who need them most, especially children facing the digital divide.

Ana Holschuh is a multidisciplinary designer who is deeply passionate about using participatory design methodologies within design and media to tackle social justice issues, focusing on children. When she’s not designing, strategizing, or researching for a community-based project, you can find her illustrating and doodling for children’s publications. Julie Vantrease is a designer, strategist, and illustrator who is deeply passionate about creating work that prioritizes the pillars of equity, accessibility, and inclusion related to working with children. She focuses on children’s book illustration, digital media, and integrated social justice education with arts-based learning within her design practice.