Cad é an scéal?

Storytelling, something that us Irish have a great reputation for, is something that can make the difference between selling a product and not. It is something that can inspire and persuade the user to purchase your idea. If design is about communication, then a designer is a storyteller.

An example of this is seen in the Apple suite of products. They are packaged in such a way that it makes the consumer feel like they have a present or a gift. Just like as a child, unpacking a present on Christmas morning, the packaging makes the user feel excited. The phone or tablet is the first thing in the box, and all the ancillary cables and booklets are at the bottom of it.

“What happens? What happens next? What happens then?” David Donoghue.

During the class, we had a guest speaker who spoke to us about his life, telling us short anecdotes about his past experiences. From having dyslexia as a child (and spelling everything backwards) to the purchase of an oyster knife in the last 6 months, he engaged with the class and had everyone interested in what he had to say.

Now obviously, as a designer we are not setting out to write the next Ullysses, but having the ability to engage with an audience helps when pitching ideas, delivering ideas, and when explaining how and why you came up a product. From having the ability to embellish stories, to just telling tall tales, having the skills to back it up is all that matters. This comes through having passion about the subject matter, just like Brian McGrath has his sausage rolls.

The main difference between a concept idea and an on market product is usually how the pitch is delivered. It is important to be able to deliver a good and interesting story, to help prevent the audience becoming bored or losing interest in the speech. Nostalgia, or causing emotion in the user is something that can be utilised to your advantage. Nostalgia and self-experience is something that can cause people to purchase a product.

A parting piece of advice given to us was “Content, execution and interaction” being the key things to remember when public speaking. This is true to not talk and waffle on about irrelevant topics, have good body language when delivering the talk, and finally interact with the audience, either by eye contact or by asking questions.

As something I had simply taken for granted in the design process, I found the ideas of having a good yarn to go along with your product and speech is something that can make or break an entire project.