What Happened Then?

So telling stories was never a talent of mine. Even in school I never enjoyed english class. Avoiding personal essays was, however, a talent of mine. I also am not very good at telling stories in person either. I seem to dwell too much on irrelevant details or drag it out . Anyway, I think that is why I enjoy expressing myself through art, no words or explination required.

On that note, last week we were painfully forced to use our very limited and unpracticed story-telling skills through the media of Story Cubes. If you're not familiar with these they come in a set of 9 cubes, Each side of each cube has a different image. Roll the cubes and tell a stoy using the images as inspiration. Now it sounds fun and entertaining, and it really is, but it is damn hard to come up with a story when you get a sheep and an aeroplane as inspiration. It really does require some imagination.

We were also joined by a very talented man by the name of David Donohue, an acclaimed writer, producer, director, and musician. He worked with Hot Press Magazine and NME interviewing people like David Bowie and James Brown but he came to speak to us about the success of his children's book "Walter Speazlebud". Trying to relate the process of writing and design David brought in some products that he recently aquired and told us a story about them. First he produced a tool that looked like a knife, then he proceeded to tell us that it was not a knife. Then he told us a story about how he recently moved house and began eating more oysters having come across a nice local fresh fish shop. After struggling to open these oysters he finally bought this tool which turned out to be an oyster knife. So this short and charming (when David told it it was much more charming and interesting, I swear) story left us feeling sort of attached to this tool, It gave it a need and a purpose.

Story-telling is a way of advertising a product. Products are often advertised as being a necessity, something that will dramatically improve your life once you buy it. Advertisements often portray an attractive man or woman, well-dressed, seemingly successful, using their products, laughing and smiling the entire time. Granted this seems to work, I guess everyone wants to be an attractive man or woman, well-dressed, seemingly successful, using their products, and laughing and smiling the entire time.

I recently watched the film Joy which is based on a true story about a woman who came up with a new mop design in the 90's and tried to sell it to people by basically telling them her own life story: she was a single mother who cooks, and cleans for herself and simply found problems with her mop so she built her own one. She became a successful businesswoman with that simple theory, telling her story. She was able to relate to people through the story of her product, from how the idea grew to how it was made to how it performs.

So theres another thing to add to the list of skills product designers need to have: story-telling, art, maths, I mean what next, debating and public speaking? Oh wait...