Tell a Tale

Great storytellers - writers, filmmakers, designers - imbue empathy by translating character' stories for others. It's a craft as old as time you can use to build empathy for the people you're designing for.

1. What is the story you want to tell? What did you learn during research that really inspired you? It is about the daily challenges in someone's life? Or how people wanted to feel more ownership when they interacted with the product?

2. Now, it's time to pick your medium. How do you want to tell the story? You could make a day-in-the life video of your subject, a magazine spread of what they care about or a mini museum.

3. Use photos, artifacts (such as hand written-notes or someone's favorite objects), and videos to create a story that follows a narrative arc - background, conflict, climax, and opportunities for resolution.

4. Share it with your partner or team members.

Project Example:

For a sustainable fisheries project in Ghana, the team collected old ship wood and created beautiful portraits of the fisher folk on these planks to tell the story of this vibrant community.