On Friday 20 March, Kolding School of Design celebrated 10 years of Play Design together with students, alumni and collaborators from Denmark and abroad. It was a day where people from a wide range of disciplines came together, shared experiences and deepened their understanding of what Play Design can be.

The programme included, among many other things, a keynote by designer and author Cas Holman, who has inspired the field for many years—and whom you can meet in this newsletter.

Across activities, presentations and conversations, one thing became clear: Play Design exists in many forms and contexts. It is not confined to a single domain, but is increasingly used as a way of working with complexity, fostering participation and opening up new ways of engaging people.

Thank you to everyone who took part—and to those of you who approach the field with curiosity and openness and help shape and develop it, both within and beyond the school.

Read more about the day and view photos

What happens if we take play seriously - even in places where it is not usually given space?

During her visit to Kolding School of Design, designer and author Cas Holman reflected on why play is not just important, but radical. In a world shaped by efficiency and measurability, she points to play as a necessary break from our habitual ways of thinking, working and creating.

Watch as she explores how play can open up new perspectives - from design and learning to our understanding of what it means to be human.

How do you create content for children in a global media landscape - and what does it take to truly reach them today?

At DR Børn & Unge, children’s culture is developed with children’s own perspectives at its core. In collaboration with Kolding School of Design, they work strategically with Play Design and actively involve children - not only to create engaging content, but to strengthen children’s desire and ability to keep playing beyond the experience.

Meet Rikke Warrer Poulsen from DR, who explains why children must be at the centre of the design process, and how play drives the development of future children’s content.

10 Years of Play Design: The research field of Play Design has grown from a small, exploratory area into one with significant research impact and wide reach. For the past ten years, Kolding School of Design has contributed to this development and has today established an international educational and research environment, where design researcher Jess Uhre Rahbek looks ahead to an exciting future for the field.

In the early days, Helle Marie Skovbjerg and her colleagues at Kolding School of Design invested significant effort in demonstrating the potential of Play Design. Looking ahead, the task will be to show the value that design expertise brings to the many new areas where there is a growing interest in engaging with play. For Helle Marie, it is essential to hold on to the playful core of this movement, so that its fundamental value - play itself - is not lost.

For researcher Cas Holman, the next step is clear. She points to fields such as working life, healthcare, business, urban planning and political strategy as areas where play can play a greater role - reshaping how people work, collaborate and perceive possibilities.

As a student on the MA programme in Design for Play, you have the opportunity to undertake an internship with companies such as LEGO and gain experience of design in a global context.

In a new episode of Kolding School of Design’s student-driven podcast series Post-It Talks, Jordi and MiFe share their experiences from Element Design and the Creative Play Lab at LEGO, and discuss how creativity, collaboration and experimentation shape the design process.

In the episode, they also talk about portfolios, applications, and what you as a student should know if you are considering applying for an internship at LEGO.

Listen to the podcast

Hosts: Mirabel and Kjartan