Narratives in design: a study of the types, applications and functions of narratives in design practice

Several design studies have looked at the potential of using narratives to enrich the design process or to create more engaging experiences with designed objects. However, the concept of narrative is still fuzzy and open to interpretations, due to its use and meaning in different disciplines and approaches. In order to deepen the knowledge of narrative use in design, this paper presents three categorizations that survey the what, where and why of narratives in design, respectively. First, it discusses five definitions of narratives based on narrative theory. Secondly, it proposes a typology that classifies the occurrences of narratives in design. Thirdly, it analyses the roles and functions of narratives in designed products and the design process. Finally, using the proposed categorizations, it shows strategies for a narrative approach to design richer experiences for products and discusses techniques for the design process. To conclude, future developments of the project are described, including a call for design projects that involve narratives to be included in a database.

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