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Cas Holman is a world-renowned designer whose work focuses on play, playful learning, and the value of play in many aspects of life. She’s the founder and chief designer of the toy company Heroes Will Rise, and a former professor of industrial design at RISD. Some of her more well-known designs include toys like Rigamajig and the play experiences at the High Line in New York City.

For a long time, Cas’s work was focused on kids. And today we talk a bit about her unique approach to designing conditions that allow free-play to arise for kids, and why this is so important—and cool. But we mostly talk about how Cas has been helping adults to remember how to access their play, and to find age-appropriate play that we genuinely enjoy. This is the mindset shift that’s at the heart of Cas’s book, Playful: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity.

As part of all of this, we talk about why Cas is shifting away from problem-solving, and an alternate meaning for “figuring things out.” Cas explains a name-by-function exercise that you can use any time you’re trying to figure out what your goal is—she gives the example of a dinner party. We also talk about how it can be fun to notice and break norms; Cas’s approach to the inner critic or what she calls “our adult voice”; and the upside of resisting the inclination to only continue doing things we’re really good at.

I think Cas’s approach to play is essential medicine for our times—as she says, play can be a way for us to find each other, care for each other, care for ourselves, remember we’re human, and keep on keeping on.

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

Cas’s Website

Follow Cas on Instagram

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