Play design as an infinite game

How to reframe disappointments and change what winning means

In game theory, the term finite game means an activity where there is a clearly defined winner in a set period of time, like chess or checkers. Design is implicitly taught as a finite game. In every design project in school or at work, we want our ideas to “win”: to be chosen or to solve the problem. When people reject our prototypes and sketches, we’re disappointed and feel like we’ve lost. But there’s a way of thinking of design as an infinite game, where the expectation is that there’s no end.

Design as an infinite game transforms frustrations into opportunities, making design as a profession or an ambition much easier. If the game never ends, a “loss” becomes the biggest chance for growth you’ve had so far. Perfect outcomes teach us nothing: it’s only when we struggle that we’re forced out of our comfort zones. As long as the game continues we didn’t lose, we are now wiser for the next round.

A great example is the perennial frustration of answering the same basic questions about design from coworkers or friends throughout our lives. Or having to explain what UX means or why style is important. As a finite game, it feels repetitive and pointless, because even if we explain something well, we know we’ll have to do it again with every new boss or person we meet. It’s demoralizing and uninteresting and we dread it.

In an infinite game, there’s never a final winner or loser. There’s only time moving forward and things improving or declining. If you see teaching design as an infinite game, the same situation is a victory. The team you’re leaving, the one it took years to influence into more design maturity, will be a delight for the designer who replaces you. That difficult VP, who you finally convinced to value aesthetics or usability, might start her own company and bring that perspective with her.

You might ask, “Why should I feel good about this kind of invisible work, helping some other team or project I may never see?” That’s a question only someone playing a finite game would ask. You’re forgetting all the situations you’ve been in where someone else did the heavy lifting before you got there. You are a beneficiary of the infinite game that all the people who came before you played. How do you think we get to the world W. E. B. Du Bois described, where affluence, education, and health are in abundance? It’s not by focusing on finite games. 

Think about your answers to these questions:

• What inspired you to become a designer? 

• Who created your job before you were hired? 

• Who fought for that budget and defined the role? 

• Who was the first designer at your organization? 

• Who was the first designer of your gender or background? 

All of our wisest teachers, Socrates, Hypatia, Buddha, Jesus, saw their teachings as infinite games. Noble pursuits never end because there’s always someone who needs help or has lessons to learn. This means, of course, teaching design is endless. Every lost person you help find their way is one less burden for the next generation. Being an expert in any field that wants to be useful is playing an infinite game. Take joy in it. You can reframe every “failure” as an investigation you learn and grow from. 

You are not going to radically transform your company culture because of what does or doesn’t happen in today’s design critique. You’re working within the organizational systems of dozens or hundreds of people, and you can only influence some of them. There will always be another project, another team, and another organization in your future, so don’t be fatalistic about the challenges you’re facing now. Focus on keeping your eyes open and making problems actionable: it’s the wisest way to invest in the infinite game that is your career, your life, and your legacy.