Donald Winnicott’s concept of transitional objects and phenomena is
recognised as a source of inspiration for the development of design ideas for
play. This paper attempts to translate principles of his work in the field of
psychotherapy into criteria for design related to play. The concept of the
transitional object was analysed in terms of user requirements at different ages
and in different everyday contexts. The idea of ‘transitional space’ was
translated into the need for play objects to support specific physical actions
while remaining unspecific with regard to the potential meanings ascribed to
these actions.
Keywords: toy design; transitional object; transitional space; Winnicott; play.