Presenting Your Work

Question 1

Which phase of the design thinking process is “Tell story” and “present” in?

Answer 1

Exposition

Question 2

What are the 8 levels of the story spine structure created by Kenn Adams?

Answer 2

1. Introduction: Character with a Goal and Motivations
2. Setting/Situation
3. Inciting Incident
4. Rising Action: Try/Fail Cycle
5. Crisis
6. Climax
7. Resolution
8. Punchline

Question 3

What is involved in the “Introduction” of the story spine structure?

Answer 3

Every story starts with the world as it exists in its current state. A character is introduced, someone we can relate to, someone with a particular set of goals and motivations—our main character. In order to be engaging, this character must exhibit motivations that resonate with the audience’s own motivations. This is why most great movies and books focus on the fundamental motivations of the human condition: survival, security, love, and the quest for knowledge and achievement. In the context of your design project, this will be your primary persona.

Question 4

What is involved in the “Setting/Situation” of the story spine structure?

Answer 4

Where does your story take place? Describe the situations and details that help bring your character and their motivations to life. Make the audience feel as though they can step into the world your character inhabits.

Question 5

What is involved in the “Inciting Incident” of the story spine structure?

Answer 5

Your character needs to encounter a problem. What is it? How was it discovered? How will it affect the main character? You can read more about inciting incident in this book excerpt.

Question 6

What is involved in the “Rising Action: Try/Fail Cycle” of the story spine structure?

Answer 6

As always, the most interesting part of the story is the struggle. Failure is crucial to growth. A story without failure, without struggle, without some kind of conflict, would be a very boring story, indeed. As designers, we don’t intend to fail, but we inevitably make design decisions that fall short of our customer’s expectations and have to backtrack on our ideas. This is why it’s so crucial that we test our designs and embrace the “try/fail” cycle present in all good stories, designs, and products.

Question 7

What is involved in the “Crisis” of the story spine structure?

Answer 7

At one point during the try/fail cycle, a seemingly insurmountable obstacle will present itself. Something just isn’t working. The protagonist feels that all is lost, that the light at the end of the tunnel has disappeared. For your own story as a designer, this frustration could be from the perspective of either you or your persona, depending on who you’ve chosen as the protagonist.

Question 8

What is involved in the “Climax” of the story spine structure?

Answer 8

This is the moment the protagonist overcomes the obstacle and achieves their original goal. The world has changed (hopefully for the better), and the protagonist is (usually) happy.

Question 9

What is involved in the “Resolution” of the story spine structure?

Answer 9

This refers to how the protagonist’s life is changed by this success. Bear in mind, though, that resolutions are boring. This is why the resolution only occupies a short space at the end of most books and movies (and the “Shape of Stories” diagram above). Designers may be delighted with solutions, but they’re inspired by problems. The majority of their resources are allocated to finding solutions over celebrating solutions. For this reason, your presentation should spend more time articulating the problem (and how you overcame that problem) than on simply revealing the solution.

Question 10

What is involved in the “Punchline” of the story spine structure?

Answer 10

The punchline is your opportunity to tell the moral of the story. What did you learn, and what knowledge should you share?

Question 11

In summary, a good presentation should contain what?

Answer 11

It should describe the world as it exists currently, identify a real problem for real people, and propose a change that addresses that problem and improves the current situation.

(This adds a human element to your work and will make your presentation more engaging from a problem-solving perspective)

Question 12

The try/fail cycle in the story spine structure directly relates to which stage of the design thinking process?

Answer 12

Test

Question 13

What part of your designs should you spend more time describing?

Answer 13

Process

Question 14

Finish the following statement: According to the story spine structure, your character becomes engaging when he/she is __.

Answer 14

Relatable

Question 15

What is the story spine?

Answer 15

A structure containing the elements of a story