i believe play is any activity that bring satisfaction and joy to a person. Playing is what we do when we need to get our minds off something, when we need excitement, when we want a change of pace. Playing distracts us from these things so we dont overload with information or stress or the equivalent. To me, it’s simply an escape from the routine and ordinary.
When you think about playing, most people would say it’s not as constructive as working, but after thinking about it with some friends, I would have to disagree. Playing is as important in a persons life as working; playing is like the recharge time for your brain and concentration and when you resume working, you’re more focused and have a fresh view of what is at hand. Also, working builds negative stress, and that stress has to be relieved somehow. Play allows us to de-stress within something we enjoy so much we get lost in it. I think this recharge time that play creates makes us more productive at the things we must do, as in, what is expected of us in society.
Without play, people would have nothing to look forward to. Playing is constructive, in that we are forced to use our brains to experiment and think about how we play and what we are accomplishing while we play. Our brains are working just as hard as they do when we work, only with play, it is less monotonous and more creative.
I think its important for a creative design student to understand what play is so they can understand how a person will interact with a product, place or thing when it comes time for them to play. These products, places or things would be designed for the sole purpose of drawing the masses in, capturing them with joy and excitement and lighting up their spirits. Designers would have to be interactive and creative enough to bring forward ideas that would keep the brain working while relieving negative stress and making people feel all around, happier.
You couldnt ask for a better job either; how to make people happy through playing. It would be the most satisfying job available! As Karl Marx suggested, a world where work and play are one in the same, people would be happier and far more productive than ever before. Play is as important as work, they work a very efficient symbiotic relationship.
Sources
– discussion among friends (tyler, rebecca, scott, nicole, william, rohit and erin)
– What is Play? research design main page – https://mpm17fall2009friday.wordpress.com/
Yes, thats my picture : ) dont have to give cred to anyone else!