Storyply®

What is Storyply?

Storyply® is a conceptual design method developed by Berke Atasoy that combines 'conceptual design' and 'story planning' to assist design teams in discussing and framing ideas in an experience-centric fashion. 

Why use Storyply?

Designing for experiences requires design teams to empathize with the people for whom they create on an emotional level. To test, evaluate, and refine ideas, designers need to externalize and represent ideas into tangibles. Existing externalization strategies are not obviously equipped to incorporate the transient characteristics of experiences into the designer's creative thinking. Storyply proposes an approach to harness the power of storycraft to elevate strategies in designing for experiences.

How to use Storyply

Storyply® provides a set of templates to guide designers through the method by visually organizing their efforts and creative output. There are nine templates in total. The templates divide the total effort into more manageable sub-activities.

Storyply® Method suggests two main layers: Backstory and Story&Review. To have a more comfortable and lively introduction to the method, we recommend to also consult the on-boarding videos at storyply.nl/videos

Backstory

In Backstory, participants work to identify and utilize vital information about the background of the project, target user(s), and the context of use while envisioning the experience in general terms.

Backstory includes 4 steps accompanied by 4 templates:

• Step 1: Follow the instructions on Template 1: Interpret Project Goals. This step helps you to spot a 'shared consensus,' 'a polarized view' or 'complete lack of direction' from the very beginning of the process.

• Step 2: Follow the instructions on Template 2: Categorize Story Elements. This step helps you to discuss in terms of story elements and the context of experience.

• Step 3: Follow the instructions on Template 3: Cast Your Characters. This step helps you to build believable, relatable, and identifiable characters that will become the actors of the experience.

• Step 4: Follow the instructions on Template 4: Contextualize The Experience. This step helps you to start visualizing and agree on the components of the experience in the context of experience.

Story&Review

In Story&Review, participants generate and assess the content and create alternative approaches that can lead to propositions for better experiences.

Story&Review includes 8 steps accompanied by 5 templates:

• Step 5: Follow the instructions on Template 5: Identify The (Story)Conflict. This step helps you start thinking about the value system behind why the characters behave and decide the way they do.

• Step 6: Follow the instructions on Template 6: Envision the Consequences. This step helps with envisioning the consequences of the current experience.

• Step 7: Assess the ten frames on Template 5 and 6: Assess the Current Experience. This step helps you to evaluate how the user feels when and why throughout the current experience.

• Step 8: Follow the instructions on Template 7: Make Your Proposal. This step helps you express the meaningful change you are introducing into the characters' life.

• Step 9: Follow the instructions on Template 8: Envision The Improvement. This step helps to offer a resolution that ties loose ends of the story and allows people to see the outcome of the alternative path that you provide.

• Step 10: Assess the ten frames on Template 7 and 8: Assess The Alternative. This step helps you to evaluate how the user feels when and why throughout the alternative experience you have proposed.

• Step 11: Follow the instructions on Template 9: Capture Ideas & Make Notes. This step helps to converge to presentable ideas and make a record of discussion topics that maybe did not materialize entirely in the heat of the discussion.

• Step 12: Present and Discuss.

About Storyply

Storyply® is the practical outcome of the Doctoral Research conducted by Berke Atasoy under the supervision of Jean-Bernard Martens at TU/e Eindhoven University of Technology Department of Industrial Design. For more information about Storyply, please visit storyply.nl and designstroll.com