"I'm alright, and you?"

After week 1, one thing was extremely clear to me. It was to not think about the module with a solutionist outlook - “we don’t want you to settle on something” is what Sara, our module leader, made us very aware of from the get-go. Based on one of our recommended readings (Blythe et al. (2016)), I understood that anti-solutionist strategies help us in exploring the problem space and thinking about ideas individually, giving each of them their moment on stage but not making them the hero of the show. It was a refreshing sandbox-like approach, a stark contrast to the linear, solution-oriented modules I, with my computer engineering background, was accustomed to. Letting go and embracing the process was a challenge, to say the least.

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Entering week two, a bit flustered by London's classic transportation chaos, I found myself in Sylwia's lecture. Within minutes, she did something that completely shifted my perspective, and it's a technique I've used ever since. She simply asked how everyone was feeling. Predictably, most mumbled the usual "I'm alright, what about you?" Then, things got interesting. We each received paper, a sharpie, and two minutes to draw how we felt that morning on our way to uni. Everyone poured their hearts into this activity, some even exceeding the time limit. People used metaphors or direct representations, and when asked to explain their drawings, a sense of vulnerability emerged, fostering deeper connections. This was the power of a "ludic experience" – a playful activity that increased engagement. "Ludic" comes from the Latin word "ludus" for "play," highlighting the importance of playfulness.

A city’s functioning includes various communities co-existing in order to work towards a benefit, let’s call the cause of this way of functioning a logic. Now, the “engineer’s logic”, as Saskia Sassen calls it, is one that I’ve been the most exposed to being an engineer myself. The engineer’s logic uses the citizens’ activities as inputs in a data pipeline, leaving little room for interaction or open-ended encounters. However, these interactions allow the citizens to feel in control, which is essentially what gives them power to create a history, a culture, an economy that the city thrives on. When there is little room for this interaction, the smart city becomes closed and has the risk of becoming obsolete as time goes on, like most tech does.

Another such playful activity came during a LEGO Serious Play workshop where we started off with just a small tower building task to later telling the entire class about how our constructions in the subsequent tasks represented the highs and lows in our lives. The resulting creations were incredible, not only revealing the value of the workshop but also fostering a sense of closeness among classmates. Creating a safe space for vulnerability is no easy feat, but Sylwia achieved it brilliantly – all with a bunch of LEGO pieces!

Cover of London's smart city project proposal from 2018

The LEGO workshop experience resonated deeply with me. One of my closest friends who is a physiotherapist revealed that playful experiences are used by neurophysiotherapists to encourage consistent participation in rehabilitation tasks. I was intrigued by the fact that the implications of this practice are not only on mental but on physical tasks as well.

Source: https://xcelhealth.co.uk/

As I look back at the LEGO workshop, it was one of those moments in this course that has left a lasting impact on me as a researcher and designer – so much so that I’ve even applied it in my other studies. We’ve been taught to not do things ritualistically and always know why is it that we do anything in the design process and justify it. Initially, the LEGO activity seemed to stray away from this principle just a lil bit – the purpose wasn't immediately clear. But therein lies the beauty – it allowed for more experimentation, potentially leading to discoveries far more profound than those achievable through traditional research methods. For any design team with the resources, I strongly recommend incorporating anti-solutionist strategies and playful methods into their research process. It's a powerful way to delve deeper into the lived experiences of participants.

Thanks for reaching the end of this blog post! Check out some of the other posts using the links below.

Paradox of Progress

Nextropolis: All Posts

Design by "What if?"

"I'm alright, and you?"

Ludic Experiences