Playful: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity

A designer, educator, and play expert calls for adults to add more fun, exploration, and imagination to their lives

We’re all born playful. But when we grow up, we learn to suppress this critical, hardwired instinct and our lives become ruled by “getting things done.” As world-famous designer Cas Holman explains, this disconnection from our playful selves is hazardous to everything from our emotional wellbeing to our ability to problem solve and innovate. The emerging science of play shows that it sparks joy, wonder, creativity, and insight at any age.

Here, Holman explains the power of “free play” through open-ended, unstructured activities that we become absorbed in with no obvious goal or purpose. The ways we can play are endless and what recharges us most is unique to each of us: whether it’s a piece of art we create, an entertaining conversation with a stranger, or an experiment to shake up a routine task. Weaving in inspiring stories and eye-opening research, Holman shows us that adopting a playful mindset is crucial in helping us:

Overcome fear of failure and embrace new ways of thinking

Destress, reset, and connect with each other

Grow our creativity at every stage of our lives Find joy in bleak times

Playful draws on psychology, history, art, and design thinking to make a powerful case for the vital importance of play for grown-ups in a world obsessed with productivity. Provocative, wise, and full of spirit, it will inspire you to (re) learn how to play.

The book, Playful: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity [Bulk, Wholesale, Quantity] ISBN# 9780593713402 in Hardcover by Cas Holman may be ordered in bulk quantities. Minimum starts at 25 copies. Availability based on publisher status and quantity being ordered.