Designing for Joy: How Play Sparks Creativity and Gets Better Results

Practical ways to make design more fun for yourself, your team, and your clients

6 min readMar 6, 2025

Prompt: Team of UX designers laughing having the most fun possible while brainstorming as a group , modern collage

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” — Aristotle

Great design thrives on curiosity, yet many teams approach it with a rigid seriousness that stifles creativity. The best design teams know a little secret: when people enjoy the process, magic happens. Think about a product team cracking up over wild brainstorm ideas or a branding workshop that feels like kids playing in a sandbox. That’s not wasted time. It’s fuel for flow — the state of optimal experience where creativity flourishes and time seems to disappear.

Science backs this up. Research by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow shows that people do their best work when they are deeply immersed in an activity that balances challenge and skill, provides clear goals, and delivers immediate feedback. When we enter this state, we lose self-consciousness, focus intensely, and produce better results faster.

Interestingly, Csikszentmihalyi’s research found that people report more flow at work than at leisure, yet paradoxically, they say they’d rather be doing something else. This suggests that external workplace constraints often prevent people from fully enjoying their work. The solution? Play. Playfulness injects the spontaneity, challenge, and enjoyment needed to trigger flow. When you embrace play, you’re not just making the process more enjoyable — you’re hacking your brain’s ability to reach peak performance.

Why Play Fuels Flow, Creativity, and Collaboration

In “play mode,” there are no mistakes — just iterations. When designers turn challenges into a game or experiment freely, they stay open-minded, curious, and persistent. Playfulness at work enhances cognitive flexibility, meaning people explore more diverse solutions rather than getting stuck in linear thinking.

And it’s not just about individual creativity. Play strengthens teams. A Harvard Business Review article by former Disney innovation head Wardle (2024) highlights that “playful environments encourage free-flowing ideas and positive work atmospheres, leading to original solutions and a more engaged workforce.” (source)

When teams share laughter and engage in playful exercises, trust grows, communication improves, and hierarchy fades. That means even the quietest team members feel comfortable sharing ideas. The best design breakthroughs often come from open, playful collaboration.

Playful Culture in Action: What the Best Teams Do

Some of the most successful design-driven companies intentionally build fun into their process because they know it fuels flow:

IDEO runs internal design challenges to spark unexpected ideas.
Google designs offices with slides, LEGO walls, and game rooms to encourage spontaneous creativity.
Pixar fosters a relaxed workspace where casual coffee chats between animators and writers often lead to brilliant story ideas.
Atlassian has quarterly “ShipIt Days” where employees can work on anything they want for 24 hours — resulting in real product innovations.
IKEA & Samsung use LEGO Serious Play workshops to tackle complex design challenges, proving that hands-on play sparks unexpected solutions.

How to Make the Design Process More Fun and Flow-Friendly

Here’s how you can structure your work to make flow and creativity happen effortlessly.

For Individual Designers

Prime your brain for flow. Before tackling a serious problem, warm up with five minutes of doodling or sketching something absurd. Studies show that play increases cognitive flexibility.
Switch up your tools. If you always design digitally, grab a sketchbook. If you usually sketch, try collage. New mediums unlock fresh thinking.
Set constraints for creative breakthroughs. Limit yourself to one tool, a tight time frame, or an unconventional approach to spark unexpected solutions.
Gamify your tasks. Set a timer and see how many ideas you can sketch in 10 minutes. No filter, no judgment — just flow.
Follow the fun. If an idea makes you laugh or sparks excitement, explore it. That instinct often leads to the most creative solutions.

For Teams

Start meetings with a “bad idea brainstorm.” The goal: pitch the worst possible solution. It gets people laughing and thinking freely.
Rotate the facilitator. Let different team members lead brainstorming sessions. A fresh perspective keeps things dynamic and prevents creative stagnation.
Get hands-on. Keep LEGO, clay, or craft materials around. Sometimes physically building an idea unlocks new ways of thinking.
Play “What Would [X] Do?” Pick a well-known figure — Steve Jobs, Dr. Seuss, or an AI overlord — and ask, “How would they solve this design problem?”
Celebrate the wins. When a prototype is finished, do something fun as a team. A meme battle, a virtual game, or a goofy dress-up day boosts morale and keeps flow sustainable.

For Clients and Stakeholders

Make workshops interactive. Instead of just presenting, get clients involved in a “design game.” Break into teams, compete to generate wild ideas, and give bonus points for the boldest concepts.
Ditch the dry presentations. Have clients sketch their vision or rearrange sticky notes instead of just nodding at a PowerPoint.
Turn feedback into a game. Ask clients to vote on ideas using stickers, emoji reactions, or even a “design fantasy draft” where they pick their top features.
Play ‘Future Headlines.’ Ask clients to imagine a headline five years from now about their brand’s success. What would they want it to say? This aligns vision and goals while keeping the process engaging.

“Serious Play”: How to Keep Fun Productive

Of course, fun has to have a purpose. The best teams use play strategically, not as a distraction.

Time and Place Matter

Play is great for brainstorming and problem-solving, but not every moment is a free-for-all. A good rule of thumb: play while exploring ideas, then focus when refining them. Go all in on wild concepts early, then narrow them down and execute with precision.

Keep It Natural, Not Forced

We’ve all been forced into a “mandatory fun” work event that felt anything but fun. That’s not what we’re aiming for. The best play happens when it’s authentic and when teams bring their own personalities into the work.

Balance Fun with Professionalism

Playfulness should never come at the expense of respect or quality. A goofy prototype is great, but only if it still solves the problem. When working with clients, gauge their comfort level. Some will love silly warm-ups, while others might prefer a more subtle approach.

Measure Output, Not Hours

If play leads to better ideas in less time, who cares if it looks different from traditional work? Research shows that when companies embrace fun, employees are actually more productive, not less.

Wrapping Up: Flow is the Key to Productivity and Creativity

Design isn’t just about output — it’s about engagement. When you and your team work in a state of flow, you’re not just more creative, you’re more productive too. Research shows that people in flow work more efficiently, make better decisions, and experience less fatigue, making playful engagement a serious advantage.

Rather than viewing fun as a distraction, consider it a shortcut to better results. Playfulness removes creative blocks, fosters collaboration, and fuels the intrinsic motivation that keeps teams inspired. By intentionally structuring work to encourage flow, you’ll spend less time forcing creativity and more time letting great ideas emerge naturally.

So the next time you’re feeling stuck, don’t grind harder — play smarter. Challenge yourself to find joy in the process, shift your perspective, and create an environment where work feels effortless. When play and flow come together, productivity follows. And in the end, that’s what leads to truly exceptional design.

Sources:

Yang, F.R., & Chen, C.H.V. (2023). Having fun! The role of workplace fun in enhancing employees’ creative behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 137. (Key finding on fun at work improving creative behavior) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
van Wingerden, E., et al. (2022). Does playful work design “lead to” more creativity? A diary study on the role of flow. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 95(4). (Evidence that daily playful work strategies boost flow and creativity) tandfonline.com
Nisula, A.M., et al. (2015). Fostering team creativity and innovativeness with playfulness: a multi-case study. International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 17(1). (Concludes playfulness is a tool for stimulating team creativity and innovation) inderscienceonline.com
National Institute for Play (n.d.). The Importance of Play for Adults. (Overview of research on play’s benefits for adult creativity and well-being) nifplay.org
Wardle, D. (2024). “How a Playful Mindset Can Boost Creativity on Your Team.” Harvard Business Review, Sep 2024. (Insights from industry: playful environments lead to free-flowing ideas and original solutions) leadershipdigital.com
Förster, K. (2023). Playful Design — Doctoral Dissertation findings via Futurice Blog. (Play as an “essential factor” in innovative design processes, reducing fear and encouraging idea-sharing) futurice.com
Pink, D.H. (2011). “How to Deliver Innovation Overnight.” DanPink.com (Discusses Atlassian’s FedEx Day and its outcomes as a model for playful innovation time) danpink.com
Eric Chester (2018). “Southwest Airlines Is Dead Serious About Employee Fun.” EricChester.com (Describes Southwest’s use of fun to empower employees’ creativity in service) ericchester.com
Serious Play Pro (2016). “What Companies Use LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®?” (Lists companies like IKEA, Samsung using Lego Serious Play for creative problem-solving; notes the benefits gained) seriousplaypro.com