Playfool Design Workshop – Seeing and creating playfully to provoke imagination and delight

Exercise 2: IMERGENATE!

In this exercise participants are given a set of frames with various shapes in them. Their task is to find objects in their surroundings which visually fit into the holes, adding context to these abstract shapes.

Exercise 3: GAME & MAKE!

In this second section, participants break off into groups. Each group receives a designated location close by in which they must observe the interactions that occur around them. To help them in this task, each group also receives a ‘PLAYFOOL Window’, which makes it easier to focus, observe and record their surroundings.

Having identified a number of interactions, each group then receives ‘Game Cards’ — a set of prompting cards each containing a familiar game mechanic such as Football, Hopscotch or even Super Mario. The aim is to then combine one of the observed interactions with one of the game cards to formulate an intervention that transforms the interaction into a more joyful experience. The rest of the workshop is then dedicated to experimentation and iteration, allowing participants to find what works and what doesn’t until they reach a successful result.

Profile

Daniel Coppen ( ダニエル・コッペン ) :

Having received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Imperial College London, Dan combines technical expertise with creativity during his time studying Global Innovation Design (MA/MSc) at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. With a current interest in video games and play, he believes that this interactive medium has a place beyond entertainment and sees great potential for its application within design. With this mindset, his endeavors focus on bridging the realms of video games and gamification together with innovation design and creative problem solving.

Saki Maruyama ( 丸山 紗季 ) :

Saki is a London based experimentalist. Having received her BA in Law from Keio University in Tokyo and an MSc in Urban Planning from Bartlett School of Planning (UCL) in London, Saki is currently expanding her skills to design, studying Innovation Design Engineering (MA/MSc) at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. For her, design is a common language regardless of ages, cultures and social classes. With this philosophy, her aim is to activate people’s creativity by challenging existing stereotypical values through playful intervention.

企画：Studio Playfool