Humanizing Design through Narrative Inquiry

An increasing number of practice–based disciplines are embracing narrative inquiry as a powerful means of teaching the more intangible, human–centered issues of professional practice. While the field of design has a long history of using narrative metaphorically—that is, creating designs that tell a story—less emphasis has been placed on examining the potential of narrative as design method—as a tool for exploring ideas and guiding decisions throughout the various stages of the design process. This article examines the potential benefits of a narrative inquiry in a studio setting on design process and product. The authors present findings from an exploratory study in which twenty–eight senior level interior design students formally integrated narrative (storytelling) into three different phases of their creative design process: Programming, Conceptualization, and Presentation. The studio setting became a laboratory for exploring the unique qualities of narrative method in relation to more traditional 2–D and 3–D design methods. Personal insights and self–reported changes in thinking were collected, indicating how the students perceived the impact of the narrative intervention upon their design inquiry, design decisions, and quality of work. A content analysis of the written reflections of the students revealed that designing with stories resulted in a transformative learning experience that encouraged a deeply humanized design process by nurturing empathy, enhancing multi–sensory conceptualization and visualization, and facilitating holistic designing.