Categories
Storytelling

Storytelling in Design

So what is a story? At its most basic level, a story recounts how life changes. It is generally accepted that a story is composed of three elements: a protagonist or hero who experiences an experience or a conflict resulting in a change or resolution of the conflict.

That pretty much sums up the business world, both at the employee and company level. Employees of most companies face situations or conflicts every day that require them to seek a positive resolution. Business storytelling is becoming a common tool in management to build teams and cultures, sell ideas and construct common understanding of complex situations (“The Creation of Company Cultures: The Role of Stories and Human Resource Systems,” Human Resource Management, Spring, 1984, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 41-60).

In design and innovation, storytelling is a particularly powerful tool for several reasons.

1. We’re wired for stories

As everyone knows, storytelling is as old as humankind. Before writing, storytelling was a way to pass on critical survival knowledge and express collective values, principles and laws (such as the Bible or other holy texts) that kept order in society.