What Story Does Your Product Tell? The Power of Storytelling in Product Design.

After watching a Marc Hassenzahl video about the differences between user experience and experience design, he mentioned some profound things that sparked a conversation in my mind and now I want to share that conversation with you.

When using a coffee maker, do you feel like you’re doing all the work, or does it do all the work for you? Products are designed for experiences. The products we use make up a big part of our experiences on a daily basis.

There are two ways people experience a product:

• Moment Experience
• Story Experience

Moment Experience: moment experience focuses on the feel, touch, and the aesthetics of interaction between a user and a product at that particular moment. So this can be when you first use a product that helps you solve a problem.

When you first use a product, what do you experience in that instant of a moment? Frustration or Satisfaction?

If you experience frustration, it may be because the app or product may not be easy to understand how to use at first. If you feel satisfaction it’s probably because the designers have delivered a seamless user experience from start to finish, and that’s why it’s easy to understand how to use.

Story Experience: story experience focuses on the story a product tells. What’s the process of using a product? When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you want to do is make yourself a cup of coffee. How easy is it for you to achieve that? How does a coffee maker solve that problem for you?

What’s the experience in the interaction of your product? If the users of your product are narrating how an app you designed solves a problem they have, what are they going to mention? What story are they going to tell? That’s what story experience is.

Experience Design is based on designing for the user and the user’s psychology or behavior. The user wants something of value, and a designer has something of value to offer; the experience.

Storytelling is a term that has been used a lot lately. So, what really is it? and what power does it have in Product Design? Storytelling is how we communicate our purpose, the reason why we do things, and our uniqueness. As designers, how can we communicate these things with our users? Well, I have an answer- through the way we craft our products!

The first stage in the design thinking process is Empathize. Empathy helps us find that point of connection with our users. Before we put pen on paper, draw out sketches, and prototype any ideas, we need to develop a strong connection with the audience we’re designing for. This connection gives us the power to design products that solve their problems and meet their needs.

This connection gives us the power to design products that solve their problems and meet their needs.

The user experience of a product should focus more on the user, their emotions, and feelings. Humans are emotional beings, so yes users develop emotions and feelings when using a product, that’s why that initial connection is so important! Because it lays the foundation for the story in which your product is designed.

What’s the purpose of the product you’re designing? What can people do with it? How are people going to interact with it? — The story behind your product.

This article had a lot of questions, but as I mentioned earlier it’s a conversation I’m sharing with you. I’ll advise you to write down these questions and journal your answers to help you better understand how to craft stories for a better user experience for your products.