For two decades Cas Holman has been designing objects and spaces for play and investigating the role of play in design, work, and our cultural systems.
Cas always had questions.
When summers spent exploring the Northern California wilderness were interrupted by months trapped in classrooms, Cas wondered — why is school indoors? There is so much going on outside, why aren't we engaging it there?
The models of adulthood she observed didn't appeal either. Why are grown-ups so stiff, and why do they seem to control their instincts rather than work with them? When the way things were didn't make sense to Cas, she'd invent her own systems — both imaginary and real. Her most valuable asset: an open, playful mindset.
In designing Rigamajig, Cas imagined a tool that prioritized process over outcome and valued cooperation and interdependence over independence. By providing children with tools and materials and trusting them to find use and story, we embolden them to imagine new things and build the objects of their imaginations without fear of failure. We give them agency.
Cas continued to explore the value of playful, open-ended process as a Professor of Industrial Design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). In her own life and the lives of her peers and students, she observed that people who are comfortable playing tend to be more adaptable, and therefore better equipped to handle a world of rapidly changing climate and developing technology.
Dedicated to challenging conventional ideas about how we learn and what we value, Cas has collaborated with thought and industry leaders in design, early education, and play advocacy who share her passion for reimagining our structures for learning and cultural understandings of play. When she's not doing that, Cas manages her independent toy company Heroes Will Rise, and imagines and prototypes new creations from her Brooklyn studio.
Abstract : The Art of Design
Featured in Season 2 of the acclaimed documentary series, Abstract explores Cas’s unique design process and the questions and ideas that shaped it.
Identity in Play
Cas talks about the inspiration behind her work designing for play, education, creativity, and childhood. She explains the link between play and identity and the importance of imagination in both.
Design in Practice
Featured in the 2016 Architecture & Design Film Festival, Cas discusses the joys and challenges of her design process in the development of Rigamajig.
