Directed Story Telling

Since beginning my journey as a graphic designer, I've been informed that design needs to be conceptual. It is not simply enough for graphic design to be beautiful and only beautiful, but it is essential that it serves an intentional purpose. 

I'm not sure why I'm having these bouts of grade school recollections lately...but here is another: In 5th grade, I was a pretty smart kid. I was sent to the 'talented and gifted' classroom a couple times a week, which basically meant I had to endure a few hours with a scary woman who, on a daily basis, made me want to poop my spandex stirrup pantalones. One day, according to our elementary desires for future professionalism, she divided the classroom into two. I have always wanted to be an artist, a graphic designer in fact. So there I stood on the side of the classroom that said teacher designated me to. I was part of a small group of other creative kids, separated from the larger group who wanted to be teachers and doctors, veterinarians and firefighters. After the organizing had been done, she told us what this really meant: 

The larger group of kids aspired to help people, the rest of us did not. 

At the time, all I knew was a guilty pit in my stomach, I thought that maybe I should try harder to want to help people. I tried on different goals, the vet, the teacher, the doctor...they never felt true to who I was. But as I grew and began pursuing design, I realized that design does help people, in

 unconventional and unnoticed ways. 

This article about directed storytelling pinpoints and integrates exactly why I've always wanted to do design. 'To produce communications that resonate beyond our own experience'...'using methods and tools that will help us understand what is meaningful'. To delve into a culture to understand how to touch and improve people's live in relevant ways. I enjoy learning about people and I loved Clandinin and Connelly's quote "to do research into an experience...is to experience it." I will keep this article/technique for future reference when needing to gather significant ideas for what is most important for my audience or client. 

Sabrina Ward Harrison is a designer who may not use directed story telling, but creates to improve peoples lives.