Narrative design

Language is integral to design, and it is hard to find a design solution which cannot be described in words. But although designers are trained in problem solving using both words and images, a designer usually starts by getting the client to describe their needs and desires, and often arrives at a solution as much through that interaction as through anything the designer can read from a brief or, say observe from a site visit. Narrative design, then, suggests that clients can achieve a desired outcome only when they can tell the story of their wants and needs, often in the context of a more extensive narrative. In the client-designer interaction, language helps to chart the design process, even when images (such as sketches and computer renderings) can represent its current state. A picture, then, is not always worth a thousand words -sometimes, it is the words that identify the problem. The client-designer interaction, then, is part of the design solution, and is why the narrative can have such a huge impact on the design outcome.