At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play — with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn’t).

Tim Brown is the CEO of Ideo, a design firm founded by David Kelley in 1991. Brown carries forward Ideo’s mission of fusing design, business, and social studies to come up with deeply researched, deeply understood designs and ideas. Ideo is the kind of firm that companies turn to when they want a top-down rethink of a business or product — from fast food conglomerates to high tech startups, hospitals to universities. Ideo has designed and prototyped everything from a life-saving portable defibrillator to the defining details at the groundbreaking Prada shop in Manhattan (IDEO designed those famous see-through dressing rooms).

Ideo’s website sandboxes are a fun browse (recommended: Kid & Play, focused on children and fun). And check out the Global Chain Reaction for a sample of how seriously this firm takes play.

{ Read Also }

• Watch Tim Brown urge designers to think big at TED
• David Kelley’s “The future of design is human-centered” talk at TED
• Watch Tim Brown’s “Innovation Through Design Thinking” talk at MIT Sloan School of Management
• Watch Mark Baskinger’s “Drawing Ideas and Communicating Interaction” talk at Johnny Holland
• Paul Bennett’s “Design is in the details” talk at TED

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This entry was tagged as Creative Process, Creativity, David Kelley, designer, food, food industries, Game Players, hospitals, Ideo, Prada, Prototype, TED conference, Tim Brown, Web