The Design Play Cards use play as a way of teaching design thinking, strategic problem solving and design for sustainability. Presented as a deck of 50 cards divided into three main categories of; design problems, design strategies and design inspiration. The deck allows educators to challenge designers to solve real world problems through pay and learn critical thinking and problem solving skills. The deck can be used in a number of different ways from team challenges through to group card games. The cards employ the emerging trend of gamification in education as a platform for exploring ecodesign and design thinking.

The cards are part of larger education initiative intended to design and develop a range of highly engaging and effective resources for design education in Australia. The design and technology teachers association (DATTA) has commissioned Eco Innovators to develop new and innovative ways of teaching design for sustainability, not just to the students but to the educators now required to rapidly upskill in this area. Recently the curriculum was updated to include core design for sustainability learning objectives including life cycle assessment, eco-design strategies and product, service systems. Many of the teachers were not equip to address the curriculum changes and so DATTA approached Eco Innovators to help resolve this through educational resources. The larger project involves animations, curriculum materials and other games. The design play cards were developed as a result of a co-design process with the educators. They kept expressing the difficulty in making the problems and solution opportunities real for the students and thus the card game was developed to help overcome these issues. The icon set style was used as a graphical approach so that these could then be used for further resources – we are currently planning an interactive ipad app as an extension to the card game.

We have years of experience with design for sustainability practice and education and our unique skills in this area as well as our co-design/ design thinking approaches to design problem solving has allowed us to create an easy and fun educational tool that is inexpensive, scalable and adaptable to different learning needs. This project was developed to fill a gap in the market for easy to use educational resources on design thinking, strategic problem solving and design for sustainability and to respond to the growing demand for new teaching methods in design education. The brief requires the resources to be easy to use, fun, engaging, inexpensive to produce, adaptable and relevant to a wide audience. The cards are now being used in schools and universities in Australia, the USA and Europe. The cards are available for Free download from the website and are designed for quick and easy DIY print and play as well as having boxed available for purchase. We want sustainability to be accesable by all, so we have plans for translated DIY print sets.

We have a body of work on issues and opportunities for design for sustainability education that has spanned the last 6 years. Specifically for this project we conducted interviews with teachers, co-design workshops and feedback from stakeholders throughout the design development and interaction stage. We developed a variety of design solutions that we tested and trialed with target groups. We made sure that the development of the physical card deck was done on 100% recycled card stock, with no coatings that would reduce recycling but so that they were still durable and would withstand everyday use. We created the DIY downloadable print and play set with instructions on reducing impacts in printing to allow teachers anywhere in the world to use the cards. We are producing how to videos demonstrating the playing options. Currently distribution of the boxed sets is via the website but we are looking for a distributer to pick the cards up. The design play cards employ gamification theory and serious play as a way of exploring and breaking down complex decision making processes into easy to digest and a fun way to learn. Throughout the project we have developed iterations that seek to be flexible, universal and adaptable so that they can be used in a variety of situations and educational environments.

The value is measured based on social, environmental and educational contributions. Social The offline, low tech nature of a card game means that people come together to work on complex problems. The play options include a variety of large and small group activities that assist in developing strategic problem solving skills as well as gaining literacy around ecodesign. Environmental design for sustainability is a critical skill set that any designer should be able to employ during the design process. Being able to easily access eco-design strategies and approaches during the design process and to also understand critical approaches to design for sustainability is one of the objectives of the card set. The overarching objective is for more designers to be capable and willing to intergrate sustainability into their designs right from the start. Educational The card pack allows educators to explore and use different teaching techniques as well as overcome hurdles to initial uptake and understanding of designing for sustainability and design thinking. The cards are written so that they are easy to understand but also don't dumb down important topics. Teachers are given a variety of play methods in the deck but we also encourage them to adapt the set to fit their own teaching needs.

Initially we developed the idea and asked our ongoing collaborators if they were interested in testing and exploring the use of card games and gamification in the classroom as part of a teaching suite designed to upskill in design for sustainability. We developed a propotype set based on a range of interviews and research on the needs of educators in teaching DfS. We then asked for collaborative input through a managed co-design session with educators and stakeholders. Feedback from these sessions was then incorporated into design iterations before a final design approach as decided. We then developed the final designed product and sought further feedback on graphic elements, copy and form before finalising the entire product. Currently we have teachers in a variety of schools using the cards and providing feedback on user experience so that we can incorporate this into any further design interactions (although so far the feedback has been super positive!)

The cards are making teaching design for sustainability actionable in classrooms where previously teachers felt unable to deliver content. Further to this the students have been reporting much quicker uptake of core themes and skills as a result of using the cards. One who was tasked with teaching a Sustainable Materials at University level was baffled as to how to teach a subject he had no expertease in, he was instructed on how the cards as part of a design brief for the students and has reported back that not only do the students love using the cards but that he has learned a great deal about sustainability and material selection as a result of using them in the classroom. The form and general adaptability of the deck makes it very easy for educators to rapidly upskill themselves whilst creating interesting class activities related to design process. The teachers association is thrilled with the resources and is interested as a result of this process and product outcomes in developing a range of card games that explore different topics relevant to the curriculum. The design play cards demonstrate how diverse educational resources and processes can be. they provide a quick and easy way of educators getting access to information and in-class activities on an important topics area that is often avoided when core skills are not present.