Open AccessNarrative and Design for Wellbeing: A User-Centered Approach
Author(s) -
Patrick W. Jordan,
Andy Bardill,
Kate Herd,
Silvia Grimaldi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
actio journal of technology in design, film arts and visual communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2665-1890
DOI - 10.15446/actio.n4.96251
Subject(s) - narrative , context (archaeology) , archetype , affect (linguistics) , product (mathematics) , service (business) , exploratory research , psychology , computer science , sociology , aesthetics , history , business , marketing , art , communication , literature , mathematics , geometry , anthropology , archaeology
The narratives that we have about our lives can affect our wellbeing. The Products and services that we own or use can play a role in these narratives (Jordan, Bardill, Herd and Grimaldi, 2020) – the car that says "I am a success", the toy that says "I am a good parent" or the customer-care that lets me know that "I am not important.” In an exploratory study, 41 undergraduate students described experiences with two different products or services – one that enabled and one that failed to enable a desired narrative. These 82 case studies were analysed to explore concepts relevant to narrative in the context of product and service use. We identify six different ways in which a product or service can enable a narrative, evaluate Jung’s archetypes as a means of narrative classification, and explore the roles of products and users in enabling stories. The implications for user research and design are explored.