The Value of Storytelling in Product Design

Contemporary product designers are increasingly attempting to utilize the latent potential of the product narrative and the impact it can have on the end-user and their relationship with products. Storytelling in product design allows a dialogue and conceptual exchange to be established between products and end-users. This chapter will consider the end-user’s relationship with products and the designer’s role in this emotional and conceptual exchange of storytelling in product design. This will be outlined through a framework defined by the authors as Narrative; Manufacture; History; and Interaction and will consider the work of contemporary designers Philippe Starke, Hella Jongerius, Dick Van Hoff, Ron Arad, Tokujin Yoshioka, Peter Jagt and Frank Tjepkema. The paper will be supported by a main case study of the work of Bernabeifreeman, the award winning industrial design practice of the authors.