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Designing Knowledge Through Play Workshop

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The Center for Public Service and Community Research

Designing Knowledge Through Play

Tuesday, November 25th from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Register For This Workshop


C100 at 1002 Commerce St. Building in the College of Public Service 

Why does play matter in how we learn and create? Join Kelli Anderson—a designer, artist, and educator known for turning paper and print into working tools for learning—for a talk and hands-on workshop exploring the creative power of tinkering. Anderson’s work reveals how curiosity, experimentation, and lo‑fi invention can demystify the invisible forces that shape our world—light, sound, movement, and language. Through simple materials and accessible processes, she shows how design can make science and storytelling tangible for everyone.

In this event, Anderson will discuss her approach to design as a form of joyful inquiry—where making things is not just about creating objects, but about discovering how things work. The session will conclude with a modular alphabet drawing activity, inviting participants to build playful letterforms and experiment with design systems.

This event welcomes students across disciplines—graphic design, education, communication, creative writing, STEM, and the social sciences—as well as teachers, parents, and anyone interested in how creativity fuels understanding. Free and open to the public.

Kelli Anderson: Designing Knowledge Through Play

Workshop Speaker BIO

Kelli Anderson

Kelli Anderson is a designer, educator, and author who transforms everyday materials into tools for learning and wonder—combining art, science, and play. Her work spans infographics, branding, pop-up books, and risograph animations that invite people of all ages to explore how things work. A two-time Cooper Hewitt National Design Award nominee and 2025 Eames Institute honoree, she has served as Adobe’s inaugural Creative Resident and as a fellow at both the Center for Book Arts and San Francisco’s Exploratorium. Her clients include NPR, The New Yorker, MoMA, the Guggenheim, Apple, and The New York Times. Anderson created the award-winning Tinybop Human Body app, used by Doctors Without Borders to communicate medical information nonverbally. Anderson’s acclaimed books include This Book Is a Camera and This Book Is a Planetarium and Alphabet in Motion turn paper into functional learning tools, connecting tactile discovery with design thinking.