Design As Narrative Expression
At the Brit School’s Saturday program, BritKids, OsanNimu delivered a design education module that empowered young creatives to use narrative techniques and participatory design thinking to craft and people-test brand identities, communication graphics, products, packaging, books, services, and experiences.
The course, “Design as Narrative Expression,” bridged storytelling with creative digital and physical design—preparing students to thrive in both academic and professional environments.
Positioned alongside other creative arts disciplines taught at the Brit School, it demonstrated OsanNimu’s commitment to design education as a core competency, highlighting the relevance and impact of design as a medium for narrative and social expression.
Course Overview
The "Design As Narrative Expression" course is a step-by-step, story-led introduction to Adobe Creative Cloud programs for Digital and Physical Design. Students learn to navigate program interfaces, use essential tools, and create compelling art, communication graphics, product designs, packaging designs, services, and experiences. This course includes participatory design thinking workshops and tasks set at an easy pace, making it an engaging addition for BritKids’ students who want to use digital tools
Learning Outcomes
Design As Narrative Expression: Students explore and test how storytelling can enhance products, services, and communications, capturing the imagination and inviting actions and behaviors through participatory design thinking.
Proficiency: Students gain proficiency in Adobe Suite Creative Programs, specifically Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.
Skills Acquisition: Students acquire fundamental skills in digital design, including navigation of program interfaces and the use of critical tools.
Application in Enterprise
Such as the Cultural and Consumer Goods Sectors. This course is not only beneficial for students but also relevant for cultural organizations and consumer goods companies in the third and private sectors. By integrating participatory design strategies, these companies can craft integrated experiences for social impact, opening opportunities to build new enterprises. The skills and knowledge gained from the course can help enterprise owners or boards fuse the space between people’s stories, creative thinking, products, services, and user environments, enhancing their socially-responsive-design capabilities.
The “Design as Narrative Expression” course at BritKids represents a model of how design education can bridge creative learning and industry insight. Through our Teaching and Learning support, students were equipped with digital, physical, and production design skills alongside an understanding of narrative storytelling, preparing them for future academic and professional success. At the same time, the course offered a lens into the innovation practices and customer experience strategies valued by consumer goods companies. By partnering with BritKids, OsanNimu demonstrated how thoughtfully designed educational programs can foster creativity, practical application, and the development of the next generation of digital designers and storytellers.
Potential Clients.
Schools in the UK: The course can be adopted by other schools across the UK, providing students with the opportunity exlpore the psychology of visual, physical, spatial and interactive perception from a Narrative Point of View.
International Schools in East and West Africa: International and local schools can integrate this course into their curriculum, offering students a blend of creative and practical skills.
Organizations Developing Consumer Goods, Satisfying Communication Graphics, Data Rich Apps, or Data Rich Publications: Companies in both the private and third sectors can benefit from the course’s focus on design as a narrative tool, helping them to create compelling and user-centered products and services.
