Strategic and tactical collaboration

RAFT | Strategic and tactical collaboration

WK Kellogg Foundation

Strategy for improved early childhood education for WK Kellogg Foundation

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Pressman Toy

Livin’ the Tamagotchi Life Electronic Game

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Numico

Feeding for Life

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Project Inkwell

Concept project for Project Inkwell

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Publications & Events

"The Importance of Play," The Atlantic. Psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim decodes the value of play.

"Creative Play Makes for Kids in Control," an article from NPR about using imaginative play to help kids build cognitive control.

"Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills," an article from NPR looks at how the changing face of play is affecting our kids.
Serious Play Conference, hosted by Art Center College of Design, explored the essential role of play in business, the arts, science, storytelling, technology, and more. Speakers included IDEO's Tim Brown.

The Toy Fair, London, England - January 2009.

Kid & Play

We believe in the power of play. Play is an approach, an inspiration, and a catalyst for engagement with our clients and their customers. We are building a broad portfolio of knowledge around Play, as it relates both to kids and adults. Play practices at IDEO are grounded in human factors research, involving in-context interviews and empathy-building exercises with kids. We synergize these learnings with our knowledge of contemporary cultural trends, and the expertise of our multidisciplinary child-focused designers, many of who lead IDEO's successful Toy Lab.

As well as direct application of play theories in fields such as video game design, we also connect play to workplace creativity to help our clients understand how to leverage play in their innovation processes. Our output can be opportunity frameworks, brand and design strategies, and concept designs, ranging from food packaging to strollers.

Resources, Partners, Favorites

Make Magazine: DIY meets technology and know-how.

The National Institute for Play is a non-profit public benefit corporation committed to bringing the unrealized knowledge, practices and benefits of play into public life. IDEO's Brendan Boyle sits on the board.

Strong National Museum of Play® in Rochester, New York, is home to the National Toy Hall of Fame® and the world’s largest collection of toys, dolls, games, and other items that celebrate play.

RAFT, a community-supported organization for hands-on teaching and play.

Project Inkwell, a consortium of companies and organizations working to promote 1:1 computing and access for K–12.

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WK Kellogg Foundation

Pressman Toy

Numico

Project Inkwell