The Art of Storytelling in Design

by Radhika Ganorkar

Storytelling is considered to be one the most ancient art forms. Once we understand the nuances of this we realize that almost everything that surrounds us, has a narrative, a story to tell.  Storytelling by definition is the “conveying of events, in words, images, and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Every narrative includes a plot, characters / detailed characterisation and a narrative point of view.

The ancient Indian Text “Natya Shashtra” is one of the oldest text available about the performing arts, including that of theatre, dance and music. It has influenced Indian classical music, the various classical dances and in some cases, even literature. Natya Shastra also talks about ‘bhavas’, the expression of an emotion, as performed by the artist. It explains that every bhava evokes a certain emotional response from the audience. These emotional responses are called ‘rasas’. Keeping this in mind, if we now look at literary texts and plays, or even contemporary novels and films, we start noticing and understanding bhavas and rasas evoked by different characters and scenes. Natya Shastra has laid down guidelines not only for stage constructions and stage design but also for make-up, costumes design, etc. So even during those days, Bharat Muni, the author of Natya Shastra, had considered these three aspects of design while writing this text.

Design has since then evolved into a completely new and extensive field of its own, and is still growing day-by-day. When you say design now, it covers everything from architecture and fashion to advertising and the digital world. And yet we find the story-telling aspect in each of these fields [but having said that, now-a-days not all designers strive to create a sound narrative behind every creation]. When we study the theory behind design, we study the principle of ‘form follows function’. What is function if not the narrative behind the form? When we consider the story or the aspect of story telling within, say an advertisement, it’s easier to understand and relate. Even if it’s a 30 second commercial or a radio ad, they build up a certain plot. It has an identifiable beginning, middle and an end with some sort of climax. Even the characters have been thought of in detail.

Consider the ‘Incredible India’ commercial. We see a tourist trying to write something on a postcard. It then transitions to showing the tourist absorbing the different sights that India has to offer. The director has created a fast flowing narrative by showing smooth transitions between the sights with music that compliments the visuals. There are visual pauses where you imagine yourself to be in the shoes of the tourist [thereby giving the emotional response to the ‘bhava’ of awe created by the narrative]. It ends on high note, when the tourist simply scribbles ‘Incredible India’ on the postcard.

"The Taj Mahal Agra India". Photograph taken by Herbert Ponting (1870-1935).

Instead when you consider a building, the narrative is subtler and needs the viewer to dig deeper to understand it. On closer inspection we realize that the entrance to a building or even the glimpse of a building from afar is the identifiable beginning. For example, when you consider the Taj Mahal, one of the most dramatic buildings we can discover the aspects of story telling within it. One can never view the Taj Mahal directly before entering its premises. We see peeping glimpses of it through various windows and arches. This is the identifiable beginning of a beautiful narrative. This can be seen throughout the older architecture movement in India. The temples, forts and even planning of the cities followed this thought where you were introduced to it gradually and could experience the narrative within it.

Having said all this, not everything that is pleasing to the eye has a narrative behind it. But if a designer makes an effort to create the narrative behind his design, the result is definitely more interesting and more pleasing to the eye. The today’s times, it is imperative that design [in all its avatars] engages the viewers in some manner to make a lasting impression, and the narrative does just that. This helps the viewer to relate to it and react to it. With a sound narrative, design is easier to understand.