Prompt

In this activity, you will identify themes and insights from your previous research on play, constructing innovative furniture ideas that facilitate play between multiple generations. 

Instructions

Part I: Constructing Playful Experiences

1) As a large group, we will begin by populating 4 unique lists of key words and themes. The first list will identify furniture objects that we are familiar with (i.e. chair, storage unit, desk, dining table, etc). The second list will be made up of key action words drawn from your own memories around play. What types of verbs appear in your formative play experiences? The third list will compile action words and themes found during your interview with your parents. The final list should name different contexts or locations within the home where this shared experience might occur (i.e. living room, back yard, kitchen, office, etc.) 

2) Next, working in pairs, you will form connections between these 3 lists in order to construct a play experience that involves both a child and an adult. Try to find overlaps between the verbs from your play memories and your parents'. Form a sentence from these ingredients. These will function as initial concept statements from which further ideation and refined ideas can grow. 

Some examples might include:

i) A ROCKING CHAIR in the LIVING ROOM that incorporates a ball maze that challenges children to SOLVE THE MAZE through rocking in certain patterns. 

ii) A COAT HOOK in the VESTIBULE that facilitates indoor CLIMBING. 

iii) An AIRPORT RUNWAY TABLE in the DINING ROOM that resembles an airport, allowing young children and parents to FLY food into landing zones and PRETEND to manage the airport. 

iv) A LAMP that simulates CATCHING FIREFLIES at night that sits on a BEDSIDE TABLE.

3) For each concept statement you generate, draw a small sketch on a sticky note that loosely depicts your idea. Each team should come up with at least 5 concept statements. We will then share these ideas as a class. After sharing all ideas, we will vote on the ideas we feel are the most generative, and form teams around these ideas. 

Part II: Sketch Iteration

4) Now working in your project teams, expand on your central idea to explore a variety of unique materials, assembly/manufacturing techniques, and transformability options that you could take with your project. Using the attached 3x3 gridded template, sketch (at least) 3 options for each category. Keep your drawings small (no larger than a sticky note), so you can work quickly and not get bogged down with details. 

Deliverables

1) 5 written concept statements for each brainstorming pair (with sketches)

2) Scanned 3x3 sketch iteration (per project team)

Materials

1) Pencils/Pens, Sticky Notes, White Board, Paper

Estimated Time

3 Hours