Embedded Storytelling

What?

Narratives embedded in a product, either by the designer or by the user via use, aiming at generating emotional value. The storytelling can be supported by a product’s ecosystem, e.g. through specific brand communication or services.

Why?

Emotional value may prolong a product’s overall lifespan by enhancing the bond between the user and the product.

Challenges

Emotional value is difficult to pinpoint, predict and make tangible.

Examples

• Torafu Architects’ gold wedding ring reveals its golden core as the initial silver layer wears off during use.
• Cycling gear brand Rapha markets its products thanks to fine visuals, videos, interviews and athletes’ portraits that immerse customers in a universe of connection with oneself, Nature and breaking boundaries.
• The Similes lamp collection by Isabel Alonso makes the user interact with the lights in the same way glassblowers fabricated them.

Further Reading

Chapman (2010). Subject/Object Relationships and Emotionally Durable Design. In: Longer Lasting Products. Routledge.

Glover (2018). Rapha and its Embedded Storytelling. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 22(1), 17-34.

Twigger-Holroyd (2018). Finding Distinctiveness in the Dustbin: Engendering a Sense of Place Through Waste. The Journal of Resourcefulness, 1, 70-79.