| Unit name | The Power of Storytelling |
|---|---|
| Unit code | INOV20006 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Mr. Bartlett |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None. |
| School/department | Centre for Innovation |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Storytelling is a powerful tool that turns ideas into compelling propositions. In today’s design landscape, the ability to craft and communicate impactful stories is crucial for creating meaningful connections and driving engagement. This unit will teach you how to harness the power of storytelling to elevate your projects, whether in product development, branding, or user experience design. Utilising narrative techniques, you’ll learn to convey complex ideas in an engaging and memorable way, ensuring your designs resonate with audiences.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
The second-year shifts focus on the application of knowledge through more interactive and community-engaged units. In The Power of Storytelling, you will learn to harness narrative techniques to create emotional connections and enhance user experience design. You investigate narrative techniques and their application in real-world design challenges, linking your learning to practical outcomes. The unit helps you strategically craft compelling narratives that resonate with audiences. By integrating storytelling into your designs, you will develop the ability to present complex ideas more effectively, preparing you for advanced work in design, branding and user experience.
An overview of content
Discover how compelling storytelling fosters emotional connections, builds empathy, and drives audience engagement. Equip yourself with the tools to harness the power of storytelling as a catalyst for innovation. Explore how various narrative techniques enhance product development, branding, and user experience design. Learn to craft narratives that resonate with audiences and communicate the essence of your designs impactfully and effectively.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
This unit will teach you to approach design challenges through the lens of storytelling, transforming how you think about and approach design. You will explore the strategic power of narrative to engage audiences and convey complex concepts in compelling, relatable ways. By learning to craft resonant stories, you will enhance your ability to articulate and present ideas effectively, ensuring your designs are not only impactful but also memorable.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
How you will learn
Teaching will be an interactive studio with live workshop sessions, in-person lectures and design critiques. The primary delivery mode is through problem-based projects and assignments of varying length. The pedagogy is discursive with an emphasis on student presentations, peer group learning, workshops and expert critique. This simulates the group-based professional context of design practices and allows for the kind of discussion, debate, and diversity of perspective that really stimulates creative learning. Teaching and assessments are focused on real-world ‘live’ problems to build required technical skills and add to the authenticity of what is being learnt and why. Students regularly practise their subject outside formal taught sessions.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Storytelling Blog (individual assessment) 500 words or equivalent (10%) [ILO 4]
Throughout the term, critically evaluate the effectiveness of storytelling in real-world design and branding projects.
Brand Collaboration (individual assessment) 1500 words or equivalent (40%), [ILOs 1,3,5]
Analyse and create a comprehensive brand collaboration strategy, detailing how it reflects and supports the brands, their identity and goals.
Storytelling Project (group assessment) 4000 words or equivalent (50%), [ILOs 1,2,3,5]
Develop a narrative for a real-world wicked problem, including a detailed storyboard and video, and present it to stakeholders.
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. INOV20006).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
