Rethinking design
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Written by: Allan Shepherd
In an age where multi-million pound lawsuits are fought over intellectual property, Play Rethink is a breath of fresh air. It's a new board game that encourages people to invent ideas for making everyday objects and services more socially and environmentally friendly — and share them.
It's the brainchild of designer Lili Larratea, who recently completed a Masters in sustainable design. Designers rarely think about the full impact of their choices, Lili believes: “The environmental impact of design is quite shocking — 80% of waste is effectively created at the design stage.”
This means, of course, that the potential for design to have a positive impact is immense, but so far it's been hampered by a lack of resources and educational tools.
“There may be a few books on eco-products, but mostly it's not inspiring,” says Lili. “I saw a definite gap there for something interactive. People take on more when they are an active part of things.”
Like the best ideas, Play Rethink is simple. You spin a wheel to select a category, and pick a card with a task (e.g. “Rethink how to make a light using durable materials to extend its lifespan and promote emotional attachment”). Players dream, doodle, draw and write their ideas onto the card, then share them with other players.
The game began life as a way of brainstorming ideas about recycling. Over four years, Lili developed it into a table-top version that could be easily taken to training sessions and lectures.
She took it along to design exhibitions, and soon people wanted to buy it.
In March 2007, Lili met with business coach Caroline Barnett, who was keen to come on board. Rethink Games was formed, and a first short run of Play Rethink was launched in November. As an eco-design game, Play Rethink's own credentials needed to be greener than green. The game was made using recycled and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper, vegetable based inks and eco-friendly laminates.
It was also, unusually, made in the UK. “I have a contact at Hamleys, and she was really excited about that,” says Lili. “Practically everything in Hamleys is made in China.”
It's been a steep learning curve for Lili, who now runs the business full-time while keeping up a little freelance design work on the side.
“It's definitely a leap. Suddenly you're doing everything on your own — accounts, PR. I had a request for photos the other day — you have to be ready for everything. We've had interest from the US as well, but weren't in a position to export, so now we're speaking to distributors for the US market. Everything happens at once.”
Lili has just completed an Access to Finance programme, and is hoping to secure funding to take Rethink Games forward. The aim now is to make other educational games focused on sustainable development, and to run creative workshops for designers and other businesses.
Taking the idea-sharing principles of Play Rethink one step further, they are also developing the website www.playrethink.com as a forum for sharing design ideas. Players can upload their Rethink cards and look at other people's ideas.
