Designers are trained to be storytellers. Design is the visualization of an idea or a thought. Whether it’s a book cover, an advertisement or a corporate identity, each product uses a visual language to create a narrative that connects to the user. That story could be about a brand, a recipe in a cookbook or an experience.
Design Thinking uses language to create its narrative. Instead of a visual design, Design Thinking designs a business system that seeks to build measurable solutions that contain value, strategy and user-centric connections. Because Design Thinking solutions work by connecting different parts of the business, building a storyline is important to explaining the process and its value. Merging these parts into a cohesive narrative is vital to communicating the ideas effectively. Without a focused presentation strategy, the narrative can feel fragmented and unconnected to the purpose and goal. Just like a visual design story, the parts to a Design Thinking story is crafted and designed with a specific intent in mind.
In his book The Sense of Style, Harvard professor, cognitive scientist and linguist Steven Pinker writes about the “arc of coherence,” which, he refers to as designed object. “Like other designed objects,” he writes, “it comes about not by accident but by drafting a blueprint, attending to details, and maintaining a sense of harmony and balance.”
Visual designs start out as a sketch in order to plan out the elements and concepts that will become the final solution. As Pinker states, writing is no different. The “arc of cohesion” is created the same way. It’s important to use a strategy to create the narrative that sets up the story, or in the case of design thinking, the process. This process spells out the problem, the hypothesis, and the goals. The narrative is created and written purposely to connect the parts together.
Pinker’s “arc of cohesion” is created by understanding and weaving together the following:
• The topic: The subject and the context.
• The point: What is point or the goal? According to Pinker, “Human behavior in general is understandable only once you know the actor’s goals.”
• The actors: Identify the actors or the stakeholders.
• The topic strings: These are the parts of the story that keep the reader focused on a single topic as they move through the narrative.
We know that effective storytelling can be used to shape emotional response. This is proven at the scientific level as well. A Harvard Business Review article talks about the hormones that are released while we are reading or watching a story. During tense movement of a story our brains will produce cortisol. This stress hormone helps us focus. A happy ending will trigger the release of dapamine. This makes us happy, hopeful and optimistic. Another hormone that can be released during storytelling is oxytocin. coxytocin helps to create connections and empathy. All those cute cat videos that you watch online help your brain produce coxytocin. Leveraging this emotional connection with a story can help guide decision-making and thought processes.
One organization that excels at emotional storytelling is Pixar. In 2014, former Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats shared Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling. Number 4 presents Pixar’s story spine.
Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
Translating Pixar’s story spine into a strategic business narrative framework can look like this:
Once upon a time there was [Who and What is the Organization]. Every day, [Business Landscape, Society, Culture]. One day [Problem Statement]. Because of that, [Research/Information/Data]. Because of that, [Design Solution]. Until finally [Deliver Solution/Goals].
Pixar’s framework follows Shakespeare’s time-tested dramatic structure of five acts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and a dénouement.
Design Thinking can make strategic connections that you normally don’t associate together to create something unique that connects to your audience. Design thinkers live at the junction between the right and left parts of our brains. A well-written narrative creates an emotional connection to a story. When used in a business presentation, this emotional connection can bring on an understanding and acceptance to an idea. Connect the data to someone’s feeling and watch them understand the points better and take action. The next time you create a presentation or a proposal, design a fairy tale. “Once upon a time, there lived a…”