After reading the article, Design and the Play Instinct, by Rand Paul, I am left agreeing with his claims that graphic design requires and element of play to achieve a good design. Rand uses examples from historic designers and artists to illustrate his theory that studying the very basic principals of design, and then playing with different ideas within those parameters is the truest way to teach and learn to produce consistent and solid designs. In the very beginning of the article Rand discusses that a problem presented to students, with specific parameters and “rules” for play, will produce much more interest and probably a more interesting design than just presenting the same problem with zero parameters and freedom to design.
This theory is very true in many different scenarios and artforms, not just design. The very basic principals and techniques broken down into their simplest forms will be the foundation of quality design. Using these basics in small scenarios set up like games or exercises keeps the lessons light and fun, but teach very strong and most important elements of design. I see this concept used in many different fields of study, one that comes to mind is sports. Combat sports and Martial Arts implement this concept beautifully, using very basic principals to create different “game like” sequences to simulate the basic movements that help beginners learn the solid techniques needed to advance without being completely boring.
