Delight as a Design Tool

Why Play and Humor Matter in Serious Work

Delight is often misunderstood as superficial. In design for health and care settings, it is sometimes treated as a distraction from “serious” goals like safety, efficiency, or clinical outcomes. But my experience has taught me that delight is one of the most effective ways to spark participation, memory, and connection.

In museums, I saw how playful interactives drew people in and gave them permission to explore. At the Walker Art Center, one of my most popular projects was both tongue-in-cheek and a little absurd—yet it was precisely that humor that got visitors to engage. People lingered, laughed, and, in doing so, connected more deeply with each other and the institution.

In dementia care, delight has become my north star. Coming from the world of museum exhibitions, I believed that if you could bring a person living with dementia into a state of delight—wherever they happened to be in that moment—it would open the door to other forms of therapy. Through hundreds of test sessions, I have found this to be true. Reminiscence, music, movement, and conversation all flow more easily once delight is present. Staff notice and can manage the shifts more effectively, families are able to engage in happier and more present ways, and—very importantly—residents are able to engage more fully as themselves.

Designing for delight means taking risks—inviting humor, play, and surprise into environments where they are often absent. But the reward is profound: delight transforms care from something people endure into something they can enjoy together, laying the foundation for deeper therapeutic engagement.