Written by: Travis Brendle, Creative Director at Spark Cooperative
Somewhere along the way, fun became a dirty word.
In our collective pursuit of meaning, emotion, and purpose, we have started to forget something essential. People do not travel, explore, or gather just to be changed. They do it to have fun. Whether it is a long awaited vacation or an afternoon at a local museum, people crave joy. They crave laughter, play, connection, and the feeling of freedom that comes when life feels a little lighter.
I have spent my career designing experiences for ships, resorts, and destinations across the world. Over time, I have watched a clear pattern emerge. Every activation now needs a story, a purpose, a transformation. These things matter deeply, but when every moment has to be profound, we lose the simple, liberating pleasure that sits at the heart of why people gather in the first place.
Fun is not frivolous. It is fundamental.
The Science of Fun
Psychologists have studied play for decades, and the results are consistent across every culture and age group: fun is central to human wellbeing.
The American Academy of Pediatrics describes play as “essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well being of children and youth.” That truth does not fade when we grow up. The National Institute for Play calls play “an important source of relaxation and stimulation that fuels imagination, creativity, problem solving abilities, and emotional resilience.”
Fun is how we learn, connect, and thrive. It is not an indulgence; it is part of what keeps us whole.
Neuroscience reinforces this. Mammals deprived of play show measurable deficits in adaptability and social interaction. Play literally shapes the brain. For humans, it also shapes empathy, creativity, and belonging. Fun keeps us human.
Fun as Restoration
Fun is not a distraction from serious life. It is the reset button that helps us face it.
Research in the Journal of Leisure Research found that participating in enjoyable, self directed activities reduced stress hormones and improved mood and wellbeing. Fun is not passive; it is physiological renewal.
HelpGuide.org captures it perfectly: “Play can add joy to life, relieve stress, supercharge learning, and connect you to others and the world around you.”
That is why people take vacations, plan family outings, or spend the day at a theme park. They are not just seeking entertainment. They are seeking balance. They seek the simple, powerful reminder that joy still exists and that they are allowed to feel it.
Fun as Connection
Fun is also how we connect. Shared laughter and play are among the most powerful social forces we have. Research published in Frontiers in Psychology found that social play enhances empathy, trust, and belonging.
That is what happens when a family laughs through a scavenger hunt, a couple dances barefoot at sunset, or strangers cheer for each other at karaoke. Fun breaks down barriers faster than any program or message ever could.
The moments that stay with us, whether across an ocean or across town, are rarely the ones that taught us something. They are the ones that made us laugh, loosen up, and feel a little more alive together.
Fun Fuels Creativity and Flow
Positive psychology explains why. Barbara Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory shows that positive emotions like joy and amusement expand our awareness and build lasting emotional and social resources.
When people are having fun, their minds open. They think more creatively, engage more freely, and connect more deeply. Fun literally primes the brain for curiosity, imagination, and flow.
For designers, this is the heart of the matter. Fun is not the opposite of depth. It is the doorway to it. We cannot expect guests to be reflective, inspired, or transformed if we do not first help them feel joyful.
Designing for Joy
When designing an experience library, fun must be part of the creative DNA.
You can have your cultural workshops, your art installations, your wellness rituals, and your sustainability panels. But you also need your spontaneous games, your dance parties, your joyful surprises, and your moments of shared laughter. The best programs balance meaning with joy. Fun is the emotional exhale that gives depth room to breathe. It is what transforms an itinerary into a memory and a moment into a story worth retelling.
Research shows that unstructured, self directed play has the strongest effect on creativity and connection. When the entire slate of experiences become too scripted, too purposeful, or too heavy, we lose that sense of spontaneity. Sometimes the best thing we can offer is permission to play.
The Business of Fun
It is time to treat fun as a serious creative principle, not a nice to have, but a must have.
Fun heals. Fun bonds. Fun builds loyalty.
Fun is not the opposite of sophistication. It is what makes sophistication approachable, memorable, and alive. It fuels brand storytelling, guest advocacy, and emotional memory. People may come for the destination, but they return for how the experience made them feel.
Meaning matters. Purpose matters. But if we forget to design for fun, we lose the most human part of what we do. At the end of the day, guests do not always remember what they learned. They remember how they felt.
A Call to Action
At SPARK, we believe fun is a design discipline. It is not an add on or an afterthought. It is the creative heartbeat that gives everything else energy.
When we build experience libraries for our partners, we design them like living collections of possibility. Each program has its own emotional blueprint, audience focus, and rhythm, allowing operators to bring the right experience to life at the right moment. At the center of that system lives fun.
Fun connects people to place, to each other, and to themselves. It turns a property into a personality and a day into a memory. For us, fun is not the opposite of meaning. It is what gives meaning momentum. It is the literal spark that lights everything else.
So let us take this moment, in a world filled with noise, pressure, and seemingly endless challenges, to make room for joy. This is our challenge and our opportunity. Let us lean into fun. Embrace it. Design it. Champion it.
Because when we choose fun, we choose connection. We choose curiosity. We choose hope.
And that, ultimately, is the most meaningful thing we can create.
If you’re ready to elevate your guest/member/resident experience, let’s talk.