Creativity through play for design-led innovation – a multi-case study

Abstract

To navigate the increasingly uncertain business environment, human-centric design and innovation is becoming a necessity. The ability to think creatively and come up with new solutions is needed to thrive in the future. This requires a shift of mindset from scalable efficiency of the industrial age to sustainable creativity of the digital age for corporate India. While change is hard, it need not be painful. What if there was a more intrinsically motivating and nourishing way to deal with change? This research paper explores the potential of play as a catalyst of creativity for design-led innovation in organizations struggling to accelerate transformation. The practical implications of infusing play into work for serious organizational outcomes are discussed using three case studies that cover creative empathy, divergent thinking and creative agility – three integral concepts of the human-centric design process.