Play Has a PR Problem

Brendan Boyle, partner at the design firm IDEO, explains how play is much more than a frivolous kid’s activity or games in the company break room. To Boyle, a consulting associate professor at the Stanford d.school, play is the ultimate form of engagement. He founded IDEO’s Toy Lab to uncover kid-centered solutions to the challenge of boredom. “The two biggest reasons we come to work are purpose and play,” he says.