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Phone Story in a shared universe

An exercise in storytelling for our designed applications.

Type

Coursework for INST 711 - Interaction Design

Role

Storyboarding,
Video Creation

Team

Anshika Srivastava, Aadba Rasheed, Utkarsh Chhadva, and Philip Thompkins

Tools

Figma
Premiere Pro
Apple Movie

Duration

2 Months

The Phone Story

How we created the story

What's your story? - using Comics to storyboard your day 

The first design exercise involved creating a comic out of my phone use for the day - in a pattern similar to the one used in the final video. This made me see my day through the lens of my phone, which helped me develop my initial storyline.
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Personas

The primary personas apply to Monumental and the other applications in my group. My group and I ideated upon a common persona - Dylan, who is using all four applications on his phone, along with Janet, who is his supportive friend who also uses these applications.
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Narrative Arc Chart

We charted out various plot events that could carry the story forward. We wanted to go with a standard boy-meets-girl narrative. In this case, the boy meets money! 
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Narrative Arc Chart

  • Dylan decides to invest in local landmarks through the platform Monumental, but quickly realizes he has made some poor choices.
  • His friend Janet suggests using the innovative AI-powered social media management tool imaDjinn to go viral and build a larger online presence.
  • Following imaDjinn's suggestions, Dylan works to establish a community on popular apps like SugarRush and FlipAd, which helps him to gain recognition and rewards within the community.
  • As his online following grows, the AI on imaDjinn advises Dylan to perform a recorded stunt at one of the landmarks he has invested in.
  • The stunt becomes a huge hit, causing the value of Dylan's investment to skyrocket.
  • He is now not only part of a strong community, but also financially secure.
  • Janet is thrilled for her friend and congratulates him on his success and newfound financial stability.

Key Takeaways

This project enabled me to create intricate stories for my characters, or users. Having a detailed story for my character allowed me to think about my application through the lens of my user's life, and incorporate details that I wouldn't have otherwise. 

It also enabled me to think in a shared environment. Our designs never exist in solitude. This project answered the question of how applications coexist in a digital world.
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