From toys to societal role: Play Design as a catalyst for the future
There is something almost stubborn about insisting on play in a time like ours. The news cycle is filled with wars, crises, declining wellbeing, democratic strain and climate uncertainty. In that light, it may seem somewhat detached from reality to talk about exploring the world through a playful perspective. Nevertheless, that is precisely why Play Design is gaining international traction, with increasing applications across fields ranging from healthcare and political strategy to innovative business models and urban development.
One such example can be found in the Danish town of Billund, where a new district has attracted international attention by redefining what urban space should offer its residents.
- The essence of Travbyen is that design thinking helps create environments in which people thrive. I believe many will need to experience that in the future, says Jess Uhre Rahbek, Associate Professor at Kolding School of Design.
He has been involved in the development of Travbyen, and for him the project is particularly interesting because it points to something larger about the significance of play: here, Play Design is not about toys, but about designing frameworks in which people can “play with the rules” of how we live together. In this way, Play Design becomes something that can also shape urban spaces, societal structures and ways of organising communities.
The field of design has long been associated with toys, games and playgrounds, and these remain important core areas; however, the future seems to lie in expanding the field. Increasingly, it may also be about creating conditions that encourage people to participate, explore and engage with the world around them—much like Travbyen in Billund.
- You could almost see the design field as a professional lens on how to create the conditions for people to feel that their presence and actions matter. As a society, we have created countless opportunities to experience stress, anxiety or a sense of inadequacy. Good play is an antidote to the society we have built, where we are measured and assessed through the education system, at work and on social media platforms. Play is about being present and about being able to influence your surroundings and your future, he says.
Jess Uhre Rahbek points out that in the coming years, play may become increasingly relevant in areas such as urban development, education, local democracy and public systems. Many of the systems people encounter in everyday life render them passive and disengaged. This is why Play Design becomes interesting as a way of creating frameworks where individual engagement and participation are experienced as genuinely valuable.
- Across a range of projects, we can see that if Play Design is used to create frameworks where participants truly feel they can contribute, it can become a powerful driver for greater engagement with both society and each other, he says.
The American designer and artist Tom Klinkowstein is almost jubilant at the idea that play enables us to test, explore and decode concrete approaches when designing, for example, the cities of the future. The internationally renowned designer, who teaches at Pratt Institute, has collaborated with Kolding School of Design for several years. For him, Play Design becomes a way of working with what we do not yet have the language for—but urgently need to address.
- Global power dynamics, scarce resources, debates around sustainability and artificial intelligence are making the world more complex. That is exactly why we must invest in the unpredictable. Play and design can reveal what conventional analyses often overlook. This approach brings hidden effects to light and allows us to see beyond what is immediately in front of us. That is why I call play an investment in ‘what if’, he says, adding after years of collaboration:
- From that perspective, Kolding School of Design and the Danish Play Design environment stand out as a significant part of a broader international movement, where design is increasingly about opening up the future before it has taken shape.
If Play Design is to play a greater role in the years ahead, it also comes with a sharpened demand: quality. Jess Uhre Rahbek hopes that this design approach will become part of a broader conversation about design excellence. He does not directly link play to solving all the world’s problems, but he is concerned with what happens to people when they lose the sense of having influence.
- A workplace, an institution or a community can never function through systems and management tools alone. There must also be relationships, curiosity and a desire to be part of something shared. That is the dimension Play Design can help strengthen. It creates frameworks that support the human and relational aspects on which we, as individuals and societies, fundamentally depend, he says.
Here, Play Design becomes interesting as a more grounded counterbalance. Not because a game or a playground in itself will save democracy, but because play can create spaces where people experience themselves as co-creators of what is happening around them.
This points towards a future where Play Design does not ‘only’ belong to products and children’s culture, but also to the development of urban spaces, education, local democracy and perhaps even public systems. Jess Uhre Rahbek imagines that future play designers will increasingly act as advocates for a playful way of living—people with professional insight into what it takes for others to feel invited in and motivated to participate.
That, in itself, is an ambitious vision.
But it feels less unusual when seen in the context of the times we live in.
