Childish — Transforming Children's Art into a Social Impact Marketplace

Challenge

In 2017, I developed Childish, an online marketplace aimed at celebrating the creativity of young artists while raising funds for community projects in underserved areas. The project faced several challenges:

1. Legitimizing Children’s Art: Convincing the public that children’s artwork could hold value beyond sentimental attachment, worthy of being displayed in professional or personal spaces.

2. Educating the Audience: Clearly communicating the social business model and ensuring transparency about how profits would be allocated to community initiatives.

3. Reaching the Public on a Budget: With limited funds for advertising, we needed innovative, cost-effective ways to raise awareness and drive engagement.

Solution

We launched a vibrant, user-friendly website showcasing 12 curated artworks from young artists across nine nationalities. Each piece was available as a limited-edition silkscreen print, and artist profiles were included to give visitors insight into their unique perspectives and stories.

The website also provided transparency by outlining the pathways for community projects and detailing how funds would be distributed and documented.

To maximize reach on a minimal budget, we came up with creative strategies:

• Mural Installations: Featuring selected artworks on public walls, bringing life to neglected urban spaces and sparking curiosity.

• Social Media Campaigns: Leveraging platforms to promote the initiative, engage audiences, and source new artwork, turning social media into both a promotional and participatory tool.

ROLES

• Creative Direction
• Experience Design
• Art Direction
• Photography
• UX/UI Design
• Email Marketing

CLIENT
Childish is a social business that showcases young artists through a curated print collection that supports local creative micro-projects within the community the art came from.

Location-specific assets were created for each regionally-focused project, starting with Berlin.

Outcome

Childish gained traction quickly, attracting significant attention and securing pitches with several European investors. Two major VCs expressed strong interest, validating the project’s potential as a scalable social enterprise. By turning children’s creativity into a force for positive change, Childish successfully demonstrated the power of art to bridge communities and drive social impact.