#12. Become a Story Machine! Storytelling Books for Designers (Part I)
I recently bought a beautiful book that has only just been translated into Italian. The book is called The Story Machine, by Czech author and creative writing teacher René Nekuda.
A beautifully illustrated, game-focused book, The Story Machine introduces key storytelling fundamentals (characters, context, interactions) to help children create their own tales… that they must then share with others. (link to article of the Survival Kit).
The Story Machine is not the only book I will discuss here: in fact, in this newsletter I will suggest a few more books that designers should have on their shelves, each focused on a different field of design. The idea is that you will soon become a Story Machine yourself!
Book 1: Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
If you build brands from scratch, or you focus on improving overall brand communication, this book offers a compelling framework. At the end of each framework point, Miller provides practical tips to start populating your Story Brand. It’s a great starting structure for brand design, and how you can bring about transformation that adds value to your clients and their customers.
Perfect for: brand designers, brand strategists and marketers.
What I like: the practical tips and application of the framework.
The extra mile: The book is also helpful for creating marketing pages that convert and develop campaigns.
Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. Helpful for creating marketing pages that convert and develop campaigns.
Book 2: Storytelling for User Experience by Whitney Quesenbery and Kevin Brooks
This book is great if you wish to design user-centred products using storytelling methodologies. It helps you analyse a persona, conduct UX research, and complete usability tasks using the strength of the narrative elements.
You’ll find the book packed with great examples of and parallels with the world of storytelling, all of which make it easy to read and follow. OK, it may feel a bit dated at times, but some tips I think are still worth your consideration because they are based on how the brain works.
Perfect for: UX designers and practitioners, UX researchers, UI designers.
What I like: the smart way storytelling elements are transposed into UX design.
The extra mile: The book is a step-by-step guide to building interactions that matter for the audience and testing them ahead of time.
Storytelling for User Experience by Whitney Quesenbery and Kevin Brooks. A step-by-step guide to building interactions that matter for the audience and testing them ahead of time.
Book 3: Design is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton
This book is for anyone who wants to understand how storytelling can become part of their design process. It shows how storytelling is used in many parts of the process, from the user journey to the way we choose colours or even brainstorm new ideas.
Because it doesn't delve too deeply into each aspect, this is an excellent starting book that can open the door to the storytelling approach and allow plenty of experimentation.
Perfect for: designers in any field
What I like: it may surprise you how many storytelling methodologies designers already use without realising!
The extra mile: the illustrations from some design students give an immediate idea of the relation between the method presented and its application.
Design is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton. It may surprise you how many storytelling methodologies designers already use without realising!
More books…
These are just some of the books I consult when I need to design a project or start some audience-related research.
The following books each deserve an honourable mention too, just in case your ‘wish list’ needs filling up!
Storytelling in Design by Anna Dahlström (suitable for UX designers)
Story or Die by Lisa Cron (suitable for presentation designers and marketers)
Make to Stick by Dan Heath (for any designer who wants to create memorable interactions)
I will write more issues related to different resources - not just books! - that will help you become a Story Machine.
So, let this newsletter be the first of many, and in the meantime if there’s a storytelling resource that you can’t live without, please don't hesitate to share it with me.
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The Sunday Tales is an initiative that was requested by many of the 2000+ students from my Domestika course. They wanted to know more about storytelling, but didn't know where to find the right information.
At the same time, I realized that many storytelling-related elements need to unfold clearly in my mind. Writing about them seemed like the ideal solution. That’s why I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed to this newsletter!
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