The Importance of Play

When we feel stuck, or struggle to create something new, I think at least part of the problem is that we’ve forgotten how to play, how to be playful. We let fears creep in - of what people will think, what’s expected, what’s trendy at the moment and whether we fit in.

I get the impression that many of the great filmmakers and novelists and photographers are playful in their approach. They love to think ‘what if’. Stephen King has talked about that being the basis for many of his books. A concept. Putting a character in an unusual situation and seeing how the story plays out. Quentin Tarantino gives the impression of wanting to play with his audience, of playing with a concept or mix of genres that catches his interest.

Even with client work sometimes, of course we take it seriously and have a job to do, but we can forget that element of experimentation, of trying something new, of doing something that might fail - maybe something that’s 90% likely to fail but knowing that the 10% might be where real magic happens. 

If we just stick to what we know, what we’ve done before, and forget to play, it’s going to be hard to move forward. And sooner or later it’s going to stop being fun.