Playful Futures

Playful Futures

Dreaming up a playful future

Aug 18, 2020

Welcome to Playful Futures by me, Annabel Blake; principal design researcher, PhD candidate and children’s author interested in all things play, tech and fantasy fiction!

Why I started this newsletter

Each week I stumble across lots of little artefacts on the web that make me stop, listen and think. For the longest time, I’ve been meticulously collecting these trinkets in my notion database. I made it my 2019 resolution to be less shy; to share these trinkets, and why I find them interesting with others.

You can expect these trinkets to be a mix of:

  • Technology with a creative coding + research focus (aka findings from Disney research or MIT media labs)

  • Education & play (innovative changes in the primary school space)

  • Design (particularly design for kids from interactive digital play to cute furniture)

  • Fantasy fiction (short stories and good sci-fi reads)

This letter is delivered monthly, and a more stable (and growing) list of my favourite tools, tips and resources can be found over at bigkidlab.com ✨

If this tickles your curiosity you can sign up right here and now

In the meantime, invite your friends to join if you think they’d like to play!

© 2025 Annabel Blake
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