When Fun Leads the Way
By Andrew Levine − July 06, 2010
Change is hard. I’ve had people tell me that they think it’s impossible- that we are fated to live out our propensities and failings over and over, victims of our genetic pool and our early experiences. In my more pessimistic moments I nod my head in agreement. But if anything could operate on our complicated brains to effect change, it is a simple thing called ‘Fun’. Fun gets past the neo-cortex part of our brain and drills into a more primal part of our existence. Fun moves right to the molecular experience, releasing endorphins, giving us access to our imaginations and putting us back in touch with real play. When we bring play into our everyday work world, creativity can’t be far behind. Suddenly, change isn’t all that hard because we’re hard wired for play.
Sitting on my desk is Tim Brown’s book, Change by Design. Tim says the best products and services are born out of a keen observation of people’s behavior and an examination of the challenges we face in our everyday lives. He also says that we can use design to direct behavioral changes, and what better way than to incorporate fun into the design process. Check out the video, stairs vs escalators, where a set of stairs is designed as a playable keyboard in an effort to encourage people to use the stairs instead of taking the escalator. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Think about it. How much fun will you have today and how will that shape the work you do?
