TELLING STORIES THROUGH DESIGN

11 June 2010 — Hannah Donovan

MY FRUSTRATION...

Prologue

Prologue

IT’S NOT YOUR DESIGN OUTPUT THAT WILL MAKE OR BREAK THE PRODUCT, IT’S ALL THAT OTHER STUFF...

ALL THE INPUTS.

Prologue

IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW TALENTED THE PEOPLE ARE, IF THE PROCESS SUCKS, THE PRODUCT IS SUCKS.

Prologue

Prologue

Prologue

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH STORYTELLING?

YOU ARE THE STORYTELLERPart 1

YOUR SUPERPOWER: YOU CAN DRAW

Part 1

Examples of sequential visuals: Comics & film storyboards

Art credit: Ron Smith

Cred

it: L

ucas

Art

s

My (crappy) sketches for Last.fm’s Best of 2009 feature

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1.Some of our tools

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PART 1 — RECAP• Drawing in front of, or with others motivates and inspires

• Sets the stage for the story, puts everyone on a similar track.

• Starts a dialogue, breaks down barriers, allows others to start adding & gives them peace of mind

Part 2

GOOD TEAMWORK IS STORYTELLING

STORYTELLING COMES FROM AN ORAL TRADITION

Part 2

STORYTELLING IN AGILE

Part 2

MAKING CONVERSATIONS HAPPEN

Part 2

ARM YOURSELF WITH A DRAWING (OR THE ABILITY TO MAKE ONE) AND A STORY.

Part 2

THINK LIKE A FILM CREW

Part 2

LET INFLUENCES IN. YOU’RE THE EDITOR.

Part 2

Bits & bobs of the overarching story arc

Tactical UI implementation for a single story…

PART 2 - RECAP• Get good at starting conversations. Put yourself at the centre of the narrative

• Take advantage of Agile to keep conversations flowing. Think like a film crew; edit against the plot.

• Like a serial publication, start with a story arc, then write as many stories as you need

STORYTELLING WITHIN AN ORGANISATION

Part 3

STORIES ARE ALREADY NATURAL FOR AN ORGANISATION.

Part 3

ORGANISATIONAL LORE

Part 3

Examples of lore collecting 2007 - 2010

Weaving user’s stories into the organisational lore…

A NARRATIVE APPROACH TO PRESENTATION

Part 3

STORIES: UP, DOWN& AROUND…

Part 3

A project that sparked educational storytelling

PART 3 — SUMMARY• Gather company lore & spread it

• Use a narrative approach to storytelling

• Give everyone (especially people up the chain) a story to tell.

YOUR TOOLKITPart 4

Part 4

BE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY

“PUT A LOT OF GUNS IN A LOT OF DRAWERS”.

Part 4

Part 4

WRITE BIG PARTS FOR YOUR USERS.

Guerilla user testing

WRITE IT DOWN AND PASS IT ON.

Part 4

DOING A 180

Part 4

PLACE:

TAKES EFFECT:DATE:

COMPONENT:

13 / 04 / 10

LONDON HQ

SPRINT 35 VERSION NUMBER: 1

DDM Template

Your NEW story here

PART 4 — RECAP• Don’t just design, learn a bit of everything

• Explore a lot of routes

• Write big parts for your users

• Write down your stories so people can refer to them later.

STORIES FOR THE END USER Part 5

“STORY IS ABOUT RESPECT FOR THE AUDIENCE”

Part 5

Part 5

“STORIES ARE ABOUT ARCHETYPES, NOT STEREOTYPES”

APPLY A CLASSIC NARRATIVE STRUCTURE TO SCENARIOS

Part 5

Part 5

HURDLING THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Part 5

THE “HOW” NEEDS TO BE A STORY

Part 5

SHOW NOT TELL.

Part 5

PART 5 — RECAP• Treat the audience with respect

• Don’t resort to clichés, create realistic scenarios

• Create ‘BME’ narratives around these scenarios

• Back *new* conceptual models with a story; attempt to show it, not tell it!

“STORIES ARE WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF”*

* Warning: late-night whisky quotation

Epilogue

Thanks for Listening!

CONTACT:Email: hannah@last.fm / Twitter: @han

FLICKR POOL:http://www.flickr.com/groups/1456738@N23/pool

SOURCES & FURTHER READING:http://delicious.com/hannahdonovan/storytelling