The Importance of Play in the Design Practice Thesis

The Importance of Play in the Design Practice - Thesis Example He or she should also possess a passion for innovation, curiosity for exploration and a good amount of perseverance. Again, these are traits one acquires along the way as one grows up from childhood to adulthood. Such qualities rather than being taught are inherent or inspired through different interactions during one’s developmental stages as a child. Thus, the more a person plays during the transition from childhood, and further maintains an interactive mode through play, the more creative he or she will become. The physical, emotional and intellectual developments of humans largely depend on their environment and the activities they engage in during the process of growing up. It is through these activities that they attain cognitive development and emotional as well as intellectual maturity and become responsible adults. Thus, if a person who possesses the traits of imagination, innovativeness and a sense of aesthetics, he will acquire a high level of creative potential. Wh en such an individual pursues a career in designing, proper education and training can make him or her highly proficient and competent professional in the field of design practice. Similarly, when adults continue the activity of play, they will remain imaginative and will be able to sustain their activity. Hence, it can be contended that play cultivates the qualities of imagination, innovativeness, sense of aesthetics and creativity which are essential traits for a designer to excel in his work. Thus, the concept of play has a direct bearing on design practices and it has a vital role in nurturing proficient designers. Psychology of Play Play has an important role in human life, especially in the context of the development of children and cultivating the faculties of imagination, creativity and innovativeness in them. Further, even after one grows into an adult, one needs to continue the activity of play, so as to actively engage their imagination as well as to invigorate their crea tivity. In the course of play, children develop conceptual meanings apart from understanding various things relating to life on the earth, which is a major characteristic in the growth of advanced mental functions. â€Å"Many studies have been conducted on the significance of play in human life and evidence suggests that this activity is one among the most common forms of behavior during childhood.†1 Therefore, this concept has generated intense interest in researchers in developmental and educational areas of psychology. Lev Vygotsky, a renowned psychologist, illustrates the example where he proposes that in the case of a child who wants to go for a horse ride, if he or she is below the age of three, it will probably cry and become angry, if he or she cannot ride the horse. But at the age of three, the relationship of child with the changing world "matures and it understands certain concepts. Thus, the child becomes