440 - Dinesh Dave

Dinesh Dave is the Co-founder and Creative Director at Work is Play – a fun-size, full-service digital design studio creating delightful digital experiences for tech companies through brand, marketing, and product design.

Dinesh is a multidisciplinary creative with over 15 years of experience in art direction, visual design, advertising, and product design. Prior to founding Work is Play Studio, he designed delightful things for brands like Facebook, Apple, Levi's, Oreo, Coca-Cola, Nike, Nestlé, and Undefeated.

If you’d like to chat about design, the perfect shot of espresso, or the latest design projects you have in the hopper, you can connect with Dinesh via email dinesh@workisplay.studio.

Twitter (X) → x.com/appleidinesh
Instagram → instagram.com/idinesh
Threads → threads.net/@idinesh
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/idinesh

Dinesh's Workspace Tour

Workspace Items

• Strut Table from Blu Dot
• Case Study® Furniture Upholstered Arm Shell Rolling from Modernica
• Shelving system from Moebe
• 5-Drawer Pivot Cabinet from Lichen
• MacBook Pro M2 Max
• Apple Studio Display
• Wacom Tablet
• Lacie Rugged
• Lacie 2big RAID

Joy > Function Items

• Supreme directors chair
• Supreme stepladder
• Supreme Axe
• DJ Khaled Skateboard deck
• Pioneer SRT-1000
• iPod Hi-Fi
• Meta Quest 2
• Vinyl
• 3D Printed model of Drake sans legs (terrible falling accident)
• Lego Jurassic Park gates and T-Rex
• Lego 1984 Macintosh
• Mini basketball hoop
• The Design Foundry clock
• 30 years of Mac poster
• Deconstructed iPhone 4
• Drawings from my time spent with Massimo Vignelli
• Lightroom pillow
• Finder pillow
• Heart eye emoji pillow
• Custom made Mac Pro bench
• Too many design books to mention
• Too many plants
• Concrete blocks from Home Depot

What is the most recent item that you've added to your workspace?

A mini basketball hoop! There’s a great story behind this that aligns with our ethos at Work is Play Studio. When I worked at an agency in Portland, we had a small, wonderful team supporting the Nike client. Our office manager decided to buy a basketball hoop and set it near the creative team's desks. We loved playing with it so much that eventually we started going into the office over the weekends, sliding around in our wheely chairs, and playing sit-down team basketball. It was a lot of fun and created many team-bonding moments, as well as birthed spontaneous ideas. I truly believe that sometimes the best thing you can do is step away from your desk and then come back with fresh ideas to rethink a creative challenge. Playing with this new little toy for five minutes a day not only improves my hoop skills but also brings joyful moments to the work I do.

How do you spark creativity?

People. Although I love having toys and trinkets around my studio that bring me joy, I truly strive to meet people and get to know them on a deep level. Whether through Zoom or in real life, understanding other human experiences gives me significant perspective on life and allows me to consider how others think about creative work outside my own little bubble. It provides tremendous insight. However, those knick-knacks do serve a purpose. I often enjoy inviting people over to our studio/home, and the knick-knacks can sometimes spark conversations or lead to unexpected ideas. Whether it's someone picking up a book and discussing its design or content, an item I've acquired from my travels where I can share the story of how I came to possess it, or even art, the environment fosters conversation with anyone. This can deepen human connection in many ways. People matter most.

What does your typical day look like?

Our mornings always start with our espresso machine! After our daily morning ritual, my partner and co-founder at Work is Play Studio, Sofya, and I enjoy a flat white while playing a few puzzles like NYT Connections or Apple Crosswords to get our minds going. Then we set the mood for the day with lo-fi music or a random Soulection Radio episode streamed to all the speakers in the studio. When it’s sunny, we open the doors to the garden and meet in the front garden to discuss updates on existing projects, new business, and goals for the day. The rest of our day varies and often includes working on live design projects for clients, Zoom meetings with our team and clients, and some in-person meetings with creatives around LA. We love to end our day with a good hot sauna session.