MISTAKE
Designing for Creative Resilience
Perfectionism is a paradox for creatives: It drives ambition and attention to detail, but in its maladaptive form, it can paralyze, exhaust, and block artistic growth. Over my years as an educator and designer, I've witnessed the toll this mindset takes, students refusing to share, feeling "not good enough," or stalling altogether at the mere prospect of failure.
Why a Game?
Traditional therapy and digital self-help tools offer valuable support but often come with barriers: stigma, accessibility, or simply a lack of relevance for creatives. I wanted to create an alternative, something low-pressure, hands-on, and flexible enough for solo reflection or group exploration.
Enter MISTAKE, an analog card game designed to help creatives recognize, challenge, and reframe perfectionistic habits. This project merges game-based learning with cognitive behavioral strategies, turning playful prompts into catalysts for emotional resilience, risk-taking, and self-compassion.
Design Process
Research & Insights
Early on, I conducted a multidisciplinary literature and case study review. The findings were clear: maladaptive perfectionism thrives in creative fields, fed by social media, public scrutiny, and high-stakes environments. Game-based interventions stood out as particularly promising, a way to experiment, fail safely, and learn through play.
Visual Branding & Prototyping
Moodboards shaped a direction that’s bright, inviting, and grounded in color theory. Orange energizes and inspires; teal soothes and balances. Typefaces like Lilita One and Avenir bridge the gap between playful and professional, keeping instructions clear and approachable.
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Packaging isn’t just a container, it transforms into the game mat, making setup intuitive and tactile. Prototyping cycles (both physical and digital) ensured every detail was manageable, welcoming, and engaging.
Card Creation & Game Mechanics
This project challenged me to find the “sweet spot” in prompt design, between rigid rules and blank-canvas ambiguity. Each card provides a structured yet playful challenge, from time limits to tool restrictions to creative twists, all modeled on proven CBT techniques. Players are invited to experiment, build comfort, and gradually stretch their creative boundaries.
How Does It Work?
Pick a card. > Set your timer. > Create, draw, write, perform, or design. > Embrace the result (including mistakes!).
Play solo or with a team. Try different game modes for new challenges.
The game is modular, adaptable to any creative discipline, and designed to grow with you. Instant wins, quick-start cards, and collaborative variants foster process over perfection, creating space for both learning and joy.
Impact & Next Steps
MISTAKE is more than just a game, it's a framework for ongoing growth. By integrating design, psychology, and real-world feedback, my thesis delivers a tool that’s accessible, engaging, and deeply relevant to today’s creatives. Playtesting and educator feedback have shaped it into an open, evolving system, ready for classrooms, studios, and living rooms alike.
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Looking ahead, I plan to continue refining the game, exploring new prompts and modes, and researching its impact on creative wellbeing. My hope is that MISTAKE will empower more artists to embrace imperfection, experiment boldly, and rediscover the fun in creative practice.
Designed and researched by Sean Silva. Thesis, Liberty University. All rights reserved.
