Most of us assume play is for children. If adults play around it is more likely considered a waste of time, especially when the work clock is ticking. However, people of all ages engage in play—creative storytelling around a campfire; building houses out of piles of autumn leaves; sneaking pots and pans out of the kitchen to do something more interesting than boiling water. And if we are honest with ourselves, we do play at work and play with our work, sometimes with amazing results.
What good is play? Authors Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein consider play one of the 13 thinking tools of the world’s most creative people (1999). Resnick (2017, 128) refers to play as one of the four P’s of creative learning and believes that playfulness is more important than play. When we are playing around we engage our imaginations—the wellspring of creativity, experiment with possibilities—some of them totally wild and crazy, take risks that we might not normally take in a more restrictive environment, and discover unlikely directions to explore further. Playing around the pressure is off, and all of a sudden we can have fun!
Play in the studio is purposeful. Since design is project based, a written brief creates boundaries for a specific project most often accompanied with a set of requirements. Within that space are an unknown number of possibilities. Play is a way to explore them. In the studio asking the ‘What if?’ questions or wondering ‘What might be?’ are playful prompts that take designers beyond an easy standard response. Sometimes playing around is as simple as turning an image upside down or scattering left-over pieces of a project to see what happens. Play is in many instances about serendipity.
Learning in the studio is less about direct instruction and more about learning by doing. As designers, we make things; making engages both the mind and the body, what psychologists call embodied cognition. Being encouraged to play situates exploring and testing ideas in a nonthreatening environment; if an idea doesn’t quite work out, it is still an important learning opportunity. The importance of looking at a range of possibilities cannot be overstated. Design is not about getting it right the first time. In our hyper test-taking world we are programmed to look at every situation where an answer is required as a test. If we don’t get the answer right, there is no second chance. When we design, there are stretches of exploring, ideating, imaging, and iterating design possibilities, then going back to look at other ideas. Rarely do we pop up with a surefire design the first time.
Design is not a multiple choice test: ‘C’ may not be the only answer and the possibilities are many times greater than ‘all of the above’—there are many ways of problem solving with each project we tackle. So, playing around is a way to explore many ideas in a low risk atmosphere; according to the Root-Bernsteins play strengthens many of the mental skills we engage when we are creating (1999). When you are playing around, not every cracked egg has to be scrambled.
Still Curious? Good! Curiosity is a precursor of exploration; it stokes the fires of creativity.
Check out these resources from a library near you:
- Robert and Michelle Root-Bernstein’s Sparks of Genius: The 13 Tools of the Word’s Most Creative People (1999)
- Mitchel Resnick’s Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity Through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play (2018)
