Put simply, it is a design ethos that values emotion and experience just as highly as function and outcomes.
What makes it unique is the way it pursues emotional responses as key outputs of the design process, rather than as byproducts of desirable outcomes.
Screen fatigue
Screen fatigue is reaching an all-time high in our radically digital world, and businesses are competing on digital customer experience more fiercely than ever.
There is an unprecedented opportunity for design that focuses not just on jobs to be done but joy to be had.
Not to be confused with gamification
Gamification grafts surface-level game design elements onto products in order to influence user behaviour.
Play Thinking is more holistic, using the fundamental principles underpinning games and other playful experiences to create meaning and evoke positive emotions for users, which in turn drives better business outcomes.
How can Play Thinking improve business performance?
In practice, Play Thinking can help businesses enhance product experiences across a number of crucial performance areas:
Motivation
Driving greater engagement and retention
Education
Driving better adoption and onboarding
Advocacy
Driving word of mouth and higher Net Promoter Scores
