Nym is an upcoming digital platform that builds on a decade of research into the role of storytelling in new product development (NPD). Evolving from a card-based tool, Nym enables design teams to strategically apply narrative thinking during the early stages of product innovation. Designed for both industry and education, it offers structured prompts and frameworks to support ideation, communication, and concept development. Nym empowers users to harness storytelling as a creative and strategic asset, helping them generate more meaningful, user-centred solutions. Currently in development, it aims to become an essential tool for designers navigating complex innovation processes.

Storytelling is essential in design, shaping communication and user experience. Yet, research on storytelling pedagogy remains fragmented and limited in scope, raising questions about its integration into design education to better prepare students for industry demands. Design research calls for greater transparency around the theories and models supporting storytelling, driven by industry shifts from product focus to product experience and storytelling as strategic practice. This paper examines guiding principles for storytelling through a five-year study of forty-six student projects with John Lewis and Partners. Projects selected for publication featured stronger storytelling elements like analogy, action-driven narratives, and creative product naming.

An Online Peer Assessment Tool for Embedding Authentic Feedback Literacy contributes to a volume on formative assessment and feedback in post-digital learning environments. We present a structured approach to online peer assessment tailored to the distinct challenges of creative disciplines, where subjectivity often complicates evaluation. By embedding authentic disciplinary experiences, our method supports the development of meaningful feedback literacy. It promotes student engagement, reflection, and agency, encouraging learners to take greater ownership of their educational journey while navigating the complexities of critique and assessment within creative fields.

This paper presents a research-backed video feedback model designed specifically for product design education, where traditional feedback methods often fall short. Grounded in a robust framework of Realism, Cognitive and Affective Challenge, Evaluative Judgment, and Enacting Feedback, the approach is translated into practical, high-impact features: empathetic, discursive language; clear alignment with assessment criteria; direct visual references to student work; and actionable next steps. Successfully delivered to final-year product design students, the exercise was met with strong engagement and positive feedback. Backed by both quantitative and qualitative data, this model offers a compelling, scalable solution for delivering authentic, meaningful feedback in creative disciplines.

In my research, I’ve found that building trust in co-design relies on demonstrating ability, integrity, and benevolence. One keyway this trust forms is through storytelling between designers and collaborators. I studied eight cases across organizations like IDEO, the NHS, Unilever, and others, analysing interviews with stakeholders. The findings show that real-life stories demonstrate compassion, fostering trust in ability and benevolence. Novel storytelling methods build trust in integrity by meeting expectations for innovation. Humour in stories reveals character, enhancing trust in benevolence. I present these insights as a model to make co-design, a usually instinctive process, more intentional and strategic.

This paper explores the evolving intersection of design and storytelling, proposing a shift in focus toward understanding how storytelling approaches influence outcomes in design pitches. Drawing on a literature review, four key impacts - ‘Delivering Understanding’, ‘Demonstrating Value’, ‘Stimulating Critique’, and ‘Encouraging Holistic Thinking’ - guided semi-structured interviews with professionals from Unilever and Accenture. Insights from over fifty design pitches were thematically analysed, revealing strong links between these impacts and specific storytelling strategies, including ‘Acknowledging Cultural Perspectives’, ‘Embracing Diversity’, ‘Detailing Concept Development’, and using ‘Imagery and Analogy’. Findings are synthesized in a practical framework: Design Pitch Storytelling: The Impact-Approach Framework.

In my research on design approaches, I explored how storytelling can generate new insights during design pitches. I analysed twenty-five pitches and conducted semi-structured interviews with their audiences, focusing on a case where Northumbria University designers presented a new parking appeals service to The Traffic Penalty Tribunal. I developed a theoretical framework showing how storytelling techniques, such as acknowledging users’ perspectives, embracing diversity, detailing concept development, and using imagery and analogy, can help audiences appreciate a concept’s value, think critically, and consider ideas holistically. While these methods can unlock certain audience responses, I emphasise that they do not guarantee specific outcomes.

In my doctoral research, I explored the relationship between storytelling approaches and their impacts in design pitches. Guided by literature, I focused on four key impacts: delivering understanding, demonstrating value, stimulating critique, and encouraging holistic thinking. Through semi-structured interviews with employees from Unilever and Accenture, I discussed over fifty design pitches, analysing how various storytelling methods influenced these impacts. Thematic analysis revealed significant relationships between impacts and approaches such as acknowledging cultural beliefs, embracing diversity, detailing concept development, and using imagery, particularly analogy. I captured these insights in the Design Storytelling Impact-Approach Framework to support more effective design pitching.