Why We Never Had a Catalogue

A context-driven outdoor play area designed specifically for its site, users, and landscape, not from a catalogue.

When Gudgudee began in 2014, the vision was simple. To create high quality play areas that were thoughtful, inclusive, and intentional.

The goal was never just to fill spaces with equipment. It was to design environments that welcomed different abilities, age groups, and contexts. Spaces that moved beyond standard swings and slides to offer richer, more meaningful play experiences. Places where children could explore, imagine, and grow in ways that felt natural rather than prescribed.

But stepping into the industry revealed a very different reality.

Play design, at the time, was largely transactional. Most conversations began and ended with catalogues. Clients expected a list of products. You chose a swing, selected a slide, placed an order, and moved on. The focus was on quantities, costs, and timelines. Rarely on intent, users, or long term impact.

Gudgudee chose a different path.

Instead of offering ready made solutions, the team began by asking questions. Questions that many clients were not used to answering, but ones that fundamentally changed how the space was understood.

How many children would use the space at one time?At what time of day would play typically occur?Was the play before school, after class, or during short breaks?Which age groups was the space truly meant for?Would play be supervised, loosely monitored, or completely independent?

These questions shifted the conversation from products to people.

They forced a pause. They asked clients to think beyond equipment and consider behaviour, movement, attention spans, and everyday routines. They opened up discussions about safety, accessibility, supervision, and comfort that were often overlooked.

Rather than selling equipment, Gudgudee returned with custom designed play environments. Each design responded to the specific context, users, and goals of the space. This approach required more time. It required dedicated design fees. It demanded resources to prototype, test, and build something new rather than relying on what already existed.

In return, clients received clarity and value.

Their play areas became spaces children gravitated towards, not just passed through. They evolved into landmarks within campuses, places that were remembered and talked about. They supported broader institutional goals, whether educational, social, or community driven, while strengthening identity and engagement.

The journey, however, was not easy.

Choosing to move away from catalogues meant walking away from familiarity. It led to countless rejections. Many potential clients were uncomfortable with the idea of design fees. Others preferred the predictability of off the shelf solutions. Some simply did not want to slow down and think.

But in hindsight, those rejections were formative.

They shaped the studio. They clarified what Gudgudee stood for and what it was unwilling to compromise on. They reinforced a core belief that meaningful play design cannot be standardised. It must respond to context. It must respond to users. It must respond to intent.

Play areas are not interchangeable. Each one carries the responsibility of shaping how children move, interact, and understand space. Treating them as generic products strips them of that potential.

Gudgudee still does not offer a catalogue.

What it offers instead is a body of work built on curiosity, collaboration, and deep listening. Work that is grounded in the conviction that play deserves to be designed thoughtfully, not selected quickly.

Because when play spaces are designed with care and intention, they do more than entertain. They create environments that support development, connection, and joy. And that, from the very beginning, was the vision worth holding on to.