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Greeting’s fellow creative,

 

In today’s entry, l’ll be diving into the story of me contemplating, disbelieving and coming to terms with the fact that I may in fact be a… storyteller?!?
After class this week and a deep dive into what storytelling actually entails, I found the definition of storytelling isn’t confined to words alone, it transcends mediums. A story can be portrayed and told through images, text, videos, and even products themselves.
So as a designer, I engage in storytelling, sometimes in the form of presentations, not merely to entertain, but to provoke thought, stir emotion, and elevate the perception of my designs.
An example of this can be seen through the following images (by photographer mentioned below):
This Photographer conveys emotion and a story of a personality behind the lens of a camera, even through a black and white photo. His name is Platon. I learned about him through the Emotion by Design book mentioned last blog and also this Abstract: The Art of Design episode.
Though some may argue that storytelling is the art of telling a story to other people, belonging to the domain of authors and marketing personas rather than product designers, I now believe otherwise.
In the multifaceted realm of design, we wear many hats (six thinking hats?!), and storytelling is vital to our process. From articulating our vision to stakeholders to fostering a culture of collaboration within our teams, storytelling serves as a conduit for bringing designs to life and sharing them with the world.
There are many creatives but I believe acquiring the skills of story telling is one of the most important skills we can have, it can get your value portrayed, products in the hands of people around the world and also get yourself opportunities. I am glad to say I have been learning these skills in my journey of design entrepreneurship and I can now see where story telling fits in. If you can’t keep people’s attention, you can’t let people know what you have done/are doing/are capable of and are worth their investment; whether in time, money or both.
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I will get to experience this first hand at UL Student Entrepreneur of Year 24 competition, right after the London trip. Here I will tell a story through the form of a business pitch.
Below are some of the highlights of what resonated with me and that I took away from class this week: (story for the design process)
However I felt before or during class, I now believe story telling is prevalent in all parts of the design process… should you choose to tell the story of what you are doing to other people that is. There isn’t much storytelling done by an artist who stays locked away, behind door and key, having their art never be shared. Prior to this week I used to think that storytelling is more for the domain of marketing, look at me growing!
Product users too play a role in the storytelling process, building narratives around products, instilling context and meaning. As Stephen Denning aptly puts it, storytelling enables individuals to see themselves in a different light, empowering them to make decisions and change behavior based on new insights and identities.
The story board of a product coveys a story of a products use. The stories you tell through what you say and how you present yourself, what you like doing and what you say you love, is the story of who you are. That’s why there are many quotes about how you can write the story of your life.
Just like you can teach without being a teacher I believe I tell stories without being a storyteller.
While I believe I don’t fit into the conventional mold of a storyteller, I firmly believe in the transformative power of narrative to evoke emotion, elicit response, and help leave a lasting impression with my designs. I look forward to the story telling to come in the rest of the semester; such as the Podcast, Debate and in my presentations!
 
Until next time,

 

ZD