Call for Papers – Progetto Grafico International Graphic Design Magazine (IT) – Topic: Play

progetto grafico 27

Play

edited by Serena Brovelli, Maria Rosaria Digregorio, Luciano Perondi

[Play] is an activity which proceeds within certain limits of time and space, in a visible order, according to rules freely accepted, and outside the sphere of necessity or material utility. (Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens, 1939)

Play, in all its many forms, involves all ages of life. Designing for games and play is, therefore, a complex, multifaceted activity that occurs on many different levels.

With this issue of Progetto Grafico, we place play at the center of designers’ attention, both as a rich source of design ideas as well as a design realm in and of itself, involving the use of various skills and resources.
Play is an experience that exists in an arbitrarily defined space and time; it has a precise aim, and is based upon a series of mutually accepted rules and conventions. The latter provide its key structure: the comprehension and agreement upon such rules and conventions are what make players a part of the game, and allow them to reach the goal the game was designed for.

According to this approach, games and play take place within a framework—the design of which is itself a part of the game—that can be described by the thematic categories of place, time, and meaning.

These three keywords will act as our guide in compiling this issue of Progetto grafico.

Place. In this context place is the actual, imaginary, or virtual space that localizes and limits play. We would like to analyze design modalities that, on the one hand, are the basis of its ideation and construction and, on the other hand, are the basis of the mutual sharing and communication between its participants.

Time. Play time is independent of actual time (it does not adhere to the consecutive nature of past, present, and future) and it is not subject to normal temporal rules (skips, stretches, and contractions are all permitted). Time is part of the design of play itself, setting its narrative pace, articulating its development and the successive actions that bring play to its completion/final aim. The construction of play time therefore coincides with the construction of the narrative that gives it meaning.

Meaning. The meaning of play is its end goal: you play to win, or to reach satisfaction; play can also be a means for learning. The end goal is one of the key characteristics of the design of games and play. From a design standpoint, it is what determines the medium and perceptive configurations that bring it to life.

We are looking for contributions (both theoretical and design related) that deal with the subject of games and play and their design by referencing one of the three categories described above. We welcome submissions from all fields of design and theory that relate to play in all its facets.

• release: Spring 2015
• submission deadline: 30 May 2014
send your submissions to: redazione_progettografico@aiap.it

Progetto grafico is the international graphic design magazine published by Aiap

http://www.aiap.it/progettografico/

editors // Riccardo Falcinelli, Silvia Sfligiotti

editorial board // Serena Brovelli, Maria Rosaria Digregorio, Luigi Farrauto, Claude Marzotto, Luciano Perondi, Carlo Vinti, Stefano Vittori