Tim Brown: Tales of creativity and play

Summary of Tim Brown: Tales of creativity and play

In this video, Tim Brown explains the relationship between creativity and play, how trust connects these elements together and form a key role for people to be as innovative as they can be. Studies have shown that as we grow and age, we tend to feel more insecure about ourselves when we are surrounded by our peers. We also start to take people's opinions of ourselves more seriously than we ever did as a child. We allow this fear of judgement to consume us and this is what stops us from going beyond our limits and is holding us back from sharing our ideas with people. When instead, we could have been trying to expand our ideas even further.

 Tim also points out that designers/artists should work in a lively environment as it helps to keep the creative juices flowing and the vibe of playfulness open. Apart from that, friendships will naturally be made with the people you are surrounded with and as the bond between friends grow, the trust among them intensifies as well. Trust is the essential push for those who wants to take creative risks. With that being said, being in such a positive environment with friends makes waking up in the mornings less of a routine and more of something to look forward to. 

When a child is introduced to something new, he would be more open about it and would want to explore it, this openness leads to exploratory play. This differs from adults as the first thing an adult would do when is met with something new is to categorize them which is why adults should relearn playful activities.

 The useful behavioral act that we have adapted when we were all children is role playing. Who would have ever guessed that playing dress up and acting out to be someone else when we were younger is important in the designing world? I certainly did not. Designers create things for people and to create something beneficial, they try to put themselves in their clients shoes so that they can understand their perspective even better. 

As an art student, I feel that this video has open up my eyes to see that in order for us to create something magical, we must first be fearless, not be afraid of making mistakes because only through mistakes is how we learn to grow. 

To sum it all up, every designer/artist should always keep this in mind:

• Exploration - Go for quantity
• Building - Thinking with hands
• Role play - acting it out creates more empathy