'The utilisation of narrative design is of key concern when developing visual communication' so it's not just the layout that is important but the structure behind it which should have a beginning, a middle and an end which was something similar to what Aristotle has said.
Narrative - A spoken or written account of connected events e.g story
We can consider this as a shared language. From my point of view, as a designer, it's my job to demonstrate the solution to a problem which could mean to visually narrate the solution.
We looked at Freytag's Pyramid (1863) which can also be called 'Dramatic Structure' and it's the structure of a piece of work like a play or film. It is divided into five parts which are shown below. This structure can be applied to short stories or novels.
Exposition - This part introduces the scene by setting it out and including any vital information, it may include background stories, the description of an idea like in Star Wars, anything that the audience should know about at the start.
Rising Action - A series of incidents happening to build up to something big that might happen so it builds up to the climax.
Climax - The climax is the turning point, e.g if a character has everything going for them, when it reaches the climax, everything will go downhill for the character.
Falling Action - This part might contain some sort of final suspense but during this falling action, the conflict unravels between the protagonist and the antagonist.
Denouement - This part transforms the end of the falling action into an actual ending scene where the ending scene could be used to explain the film or resolve conflicts.
Story Based Messaging
We were shown a quote by Nancy Duarte - "The audience does not need to tune themselves to you - you need to tune your message to them." - I agree to what she is saying because whatever I'm designing, I'm trying to convey my message to suit the audience, I need to see from their point of view and convince them about my message.
We were shown a clip by TOMS which the message behind it is one for one, you buy a pair of shoes and another pair goes to children in need but I like that this video is a narrative about TOMS, like showing the evolution, the start, the rise and it conveys a pretty good message, that is they are a giving company. That is all explained through the use of imagery and narrative in the background which compliments with each other.
TOMS // The TOMS Story from Giant Ant on Vimeo.
Structure -
Imagery
Tone of voice
Symbols, Icons and Colours
Hierarchy of information
Navigation
To have a good structure, all of those elements above would have to be considered because depending on how effective your message and narrative is, depends on those elements but what's great about it is that they can be combined with each other like for the previous video, imagery and tone of voice was used and combined.
Imagery - Talking about combining elements together, we were shown a video by Red Bull which combined drawing and sound together but the details were minimal but it was sharp and quick and it still told the story because the imagery and sound worked together to tell the story. It just shows that the piece doesn't always have to be complex to convey a message, it can also be simple.
Hierarchy of information - We were shown a quote by Ernest Hemmingway - "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn." - this shows that the information can be brief but still contain lots of useful information and it can be achieved with narrative but it doesn't always work writing short sentences because sometimes, some information needs more writing and information to it.
We also looked at the Martin Luther King speech and the way it was structured was key because he could effectively convey his message across but also, pace was considered and he also emphasized the message by repeating it.
Symbols, Icons and Colour - Symbols are useful for the amount of information the audience can take in a short period of time but still be effective and it can influence the audience. The book, 'Life in 5 Seconds' is a good example for how effective symbols can be because the symbols are quick, effective and easy to understand.
The video below, 'Tiny Story' is another good example because it shows it does't take much to convey a message, sometimes it only needs a line/ dot, it tells alot.
Tiny Story from Sebas and Clim on Vimeo.
Navigation - We spoke about Linear and Non-Linear. Linear has a beginning, middle and an end but Non-Linear increase interest and engages the audience.
If I wanted to create and develop a visual story, the most important question I would ask myself would be 'What is the story I want to tell?' and if I can answer it then I can answer other questions like 'What is the issue?', 'What will be the moments?' and 'What is the context?'.
Conclusion......... I know now that having a solid structure is important instead of just worrying about the layout because it's important to engage the audience and keep them interested. I learned about the different parts of the 'Dramatic Structure' and I think I can use this information when I create a video or some sort of story.
I know that at times, I have to combine different elements together to improve my narrative and I have to consider the imagery, tone of voice, symbols and so on.
One of the most important questions I have learned to ask myself is 'What is the story I want to tell?', I feel that is important to answer before I start anything because when I know the answer, I would know where to start and what will happen in the story.
